When the Woolsey fire arrived in the city of Oak Park Friday, Nov. 9, residents evacuated to avoid the flames that came down the Santa Susana Mountains toward their homes.
The fire was predicted to...
By Juliette Setudeh-Nejad, Oak Park High School
• December 28, 2018
As the Woolsey fire burned through Malibu, many religious camps, including Gindling Hilltop, Camp were severely damaged.
The Gindling Hilltop camp has been the location for the Oak Park High School...
By Oliver Carter, Oak Park High School
• December 21, 2018
Over a year has passed since the Thomas Fire began on Dec. 4, 2017. The fire directly affected Ventura County and many families within, persisting until Jan. 12, 2018 after 1,063 structures were destroyed.
Mindy...
By Lily Bonner, Abington High School
• December 21, 2018
From July until this fall, it seemed like all of California was burning. For months, a series of fires blazed across the state. These wildfires turned cities into ash.
One of these fires, the Camp Fire,...
By Olivia Buccieri, Oak Park High School
• December 21, 2018
“I feel like it’s impossible to talk, at least in Thousand Oaks, about one tragedy without talking about the other one because of how close together they have been,” Los Angeles Times reporter Soumya...
The Woolsey and Hill fires threatened many communities where Oak Park High School students live, forcing them to evacuate. Some students lost their homes, while others were more fortunate.
Those who...
By Shreya Mishra and Shree Delwadia
• December 19, 2018
He feels a peculiar smell tingle his senses, and he remains confused for a few moments. However, he remembers the conversations he had a few hours back, and he is instantly nervous. He quickly jumps upon...
By Jack Freeman, Woodside High School
• December 19, 2018
The Camp Fire was one of the most devastating fires in California’s history, burning 153,336 acres of land, destroying over 18,000 homes and structures, and killing 86 people in the process.
The...
By Clara Sandler, Shalhevet High School
• December 13, 2018
The Woolsey Fire ravaged Simi Valley, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, West Hills and Malibu, resulting in thousands of home evacuations, destroyed properties and displaced schools.
Three Jewish summer camps...
By Mary Sabados and Katherine Sharafinski
• December 12, 2018
California just faced it deadliest and most destructive fire in the state's recorded history: the Camp Fire. It was almost exactly a year ago that the Thomas fire left many in Southern California devastated....
By Tessa Bertine, Woodside High School
• December 4, 2018
Woodside High Schools’ biannual Fundraising Friday was relocated to the old gym due to the unhealthy air quality caused by multiple wildfires occurring around California.
The smoke from wildfires...
By Maya Lip, Carlmont High School
• December 3, 2018
ASB students were anticipating their annual field trip in the wild, but because of unhealthy circumstances, it was delayed.
The trip was supposed to take place at the YMCA Camp Jones Gulch in La Honda,...
By Sam Brook, Woodside High School
• November 30, 2018
Woodside, California is currently in a state of unhealthy air quality with an air index of 184 and visibility of only 2.5 miles. Woodside students have taken to the nurse’s office to acquire barrier...
By Melody Tavallaee, Liberty High School
• November 30, 2018
The Woolsey Fire has rampaged and spread to more than 200,000 acres across southern California. In the effort to help contain the fires, Frisco has deployed five firefighters and resources to serve the...
By Mandy Hitchcock, Carlmont High School
• November 30, 2018
Up north, desperate evacuees flee the flames.
Down here, residents are under an unsaid house arrest while a thick smoke drapes over the Bay Area city skylines.
The spark that would evolve to the...
By Clara Sandler, Jacob Joseph Lefkowitz Brooks, and Molly Litvak
• November 30, 2018
Jewish schools and camps have been hit hard by Southern California’s fires, with at least one day school and two camps reporting significant damage in the three-day-old blaze.
The Ilan Ramon Jewish...
Load More Stories
2020-2021 Best of SNO Stats
867 Submitted Stories
90 Published Stories
195 Participating Schools
58 Published Schools
Publication Tips
We'll be the first to admit that getting your story published on Best of SNO is hard. We receive around 100 submissions per day, and only about 10 percent are selected for publication.
There are multiple factors that come into play when deciding if a story is Best of SNO-worthy. From engaging writing and unique angles to well thought out multimedia elements, more considerations are made than it might look.
If you're having a hard time achieving that Best of SNO distinction, check out our past newsletters to get a better idea of the type of content we're looking for.
![FIVE-STAR CAPTAIN: In One Night Only, the opening number of the spring show on Saturday night, Blue Brigade captain Charli Cevallos is front and center setting the mood and tempo for the number and entire show. Cevallos said the opening number of the spring show is always upbeat and fun and this year’s edition was no exception. Cevallos said she remembers the moment as one of pure adrenaline. “Since opener is the first dance, the excitement is running high and it’s such a great feeling to be performing our hard work for an audience.” As the photo suggests, the team was able to perform the number in sync even though it was a new dance choreographed exclusively for the spring show by first lieutenant Annabel Winter (left) and senior lieutenant Emily Garza. “Opener was our first spring show dance we learned,” Cevallos said, “and it came together super well. … [It was] definitely a team favorite.” Cevallos said her favorite part of the number was the very beginning when Winter (left) woke her up stage left from a deep sleep to start the show. “It’s so fun,” she said, “and the audience loved it.” For the first time in three years, that audience was in the MAC and at full capacity without pandemic restrictions.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/dsc04748_52025488192_o-900x600.jpg)
![BALLADS AND BLUES: Sophomores King Perez-Cude and Joaquín Frazier, from the student band Red River Trucking Company, play a set of country-rock tunes, including traditional bluegrass tunes, Chris Stapleton’s “Midnight Train to Memphis” and an original song called “Ballad of an Outlaw Fugitive” at the Mr. Myers send-off concert. “We’re a rock band usually, but we have a lot of old school country and blues elements, so we decided to go acoustic,” Frazier said. He describes their style as complicated. “We’re kind of all over the place, but I would say blues or southern rock with some serious country and psychedelic influences,” Frazier said. Although he never met Mr. Myers, Frazier wanted to perform in honor of him. “[I] never got to know Mr. Myers, but I’ve heard great things he had done for our friends, and we wanted to play in honor of him,” he said. “We put together a short set together the night before and decided to go for it.” Reporting by Lucy Marco.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/51931221575_ee6e3fd1a4_c_51954485537_o.jpg)
![The cardiovascular system is painted on the wall outside the biology classrooms. The nicotine in vape and e-cigarette products have been proven to negatively impact the lungs, contributing to the concern the vaping epidemic will affect the health of youth for years to come. “There is an epidemic in our school of under-aged nicotine consumption… I think that this year that they did a really great job by bringing in Breathe NH… it was much more effective: there was a lot of data, statistics, infographics and [comparisons] especially to cigarettes, said Mary Martin 20, student council president.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/vapingphoto.jpg)
