The Student News Site of Foothill Technology High School

The Foothill Dragon Press
The Student News Site of Foothill Technology High School

The Foothill Dragon Press
The Student News Site of Foothill Technology High School

The Foothill Dragon Press
Amber Duhs

Amber Duhs, Assignment Editor

Biggest Vince Guaraldi Trio fan you will ever meet.

All content by Amber Duhs
As another year comes to pass, it's time to look back on 2024 at Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) and see what's come to pass. From the arrival of a new principal to the 25th anniversary of our school, join our writers as we review the last year.

Best of 2024: Foothill Tech

Emmanuel Takaya, Jane Kim, Layla Solomon, and Amber Duhs
January 9, 2025
Full of excitement and anticipated releases, 2024's film reel contains a wide variety of genres and plots, including several sequels such as "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice," "Inside Out 2," and "Twisters." By contrast, "Heretic," "Challengers," and "It Ends with Us" were all standalone films ranging from psychological horror to sports and romantic drama. With many films still in development through 2025 and beyond, the best reel from 2024 will surely leave a lasting mark.

Best of 2024: Movies

Julia Brossia, Amber Duhs, Morgan Houston, and Oliver Kelley
January 9, 2025
2025 has begun! And with that, it's now time for us to look back on 2024 and remember all that has come to pass. Join the Foothill Dragon Press's writing section as we review a variety of popular topics from the year, ranging from albums and movies to fashion trends and books. It's sure to bring back memories from the past year and let us appreciate all the change and excitement we've experienced.

Best of 2024: A year in review

Emmanuel Takaya, Lyla Huff, Audrey Szijj, Morgan Houston, Jane Kim, Amber Duhs, Layla Solomon, Julia Brossia, Oliver Kelley, Ruby Jenkins, Kalea Eggertsen, and Kellen Spears
January 9, 2025
Tune into the fourth installment of Dragon's Digest for news updates and recent sports coverage. Additionally, look for upcoming Arts and Enterainment (A&E) articles along with Features pieces that highlight national interest and local engagement alike.

Dragon’s Digest: Season 3, Episode 4

Saanvi Joshi, Fiona Aulenta, Maggie Lay, Chance Leandro, Eli Billings, Chance Leandro, and Amber Duhs
November 23, 2024
Join journalists, Sofia Patiño '25 and Fiona Aulenta '26 in the newest season of the podcast "The Talk of the Lair." In this episode, starring photography section editors, Lauren Kaller '25 and Audrey Yoong '26, they'll do a deep dive into the process of photography in journalism.

The Talk of the Lair: Meet the writing section

Fiona Aulenta, Sofia Patiño, Amber Duhs, Ruby Jenkins, and Julia Brossia
October 26, 2024
On the sunny afternoon of Sept. 29, 2024, the Santa Clara Valley Wellness Foundation (SCVWF) hosted its second annual "Harvest and Health" pumpkin festival with the goal to raise money for the foundation's variety of scholarships and internships given out to students interested in the medical field. Read more to learn about the birth of the festival, how the SCVWF got started and what the festival entailed.

Santa Paula’s second annual “Harvest & Health” Festival raises funds for students interested in healthcare

Amber Duhs, Writer
October 21, 2024
On the sunny afternoon of Sept. 29, 2024, the Santa Clara Valley Wellness Foundation (SCVWF) hosted its second annual "Harvest and Health" pumpkin festival with the goal to raise money for the foundation's variety of scholarships and internships given out to students interested in the medical field. Read more to learn about the birth of the festival, how the SCVWF got started and what the festival entailed.

[Photo] STEMbassadors and Idea Center

Kellen Spears, Writer
October 30, 2024
After an intense campaign period, the nine different presidential candidates in all three of Richard Geib's Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics (AP Gov) classes, were slowly wittled down to the winners in each period. In period one, Maxwell Fielder '25 won as the new Republican President. Huzaifah Rangwala '25 and the green party emerged victorious in period four. Finally, in period five, Democratic candidate, Lila Rosenthal '25 secured the majority vote.

News Brief: Class of 2025 annual mock election comes to an end

Amber Duhs, Writer
October 12, 2024
As the 2024-25 school year begins, be sure to tune in to Season 3 of the Dragon’s Digest (formerly FDP-TV) for the latest news and sports coverage. Additionally, keep an eye out for upcoming features and A&E articles.

Dragon’s Digest: Season 3, Episode 1

Sofia Patiño, Saanvi Joshi, Fiona Aulenta, Maggie Lay, Chance Leandro, and Amber Duhs
September 20, 2024
The diminishing focus in the day to day life is affecting everyone, especially Generation Z (Gen Z) and Generation Alpha (Gen Alpha). People have started noticing that they are not able to pay attention for long periods of time, making daily tasks and school much harder. Even sitting down to watch a movie or show can be a struggle. The big question is, why? Amber Duhs will explore this question in her article.

Opinion: The death of a generation’s attention span

Amber Duhs, Writer
September 2, 2024
Reusable items have recently made their way into the main-steam with trends on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok popularizing water bottles and tote bags alike. While increased awareness of sustainable practices may sound like a positive change from the usual toxicity of the social media world, the rise of trends often leads to overconsumption and an increase of consumerism; the antithesis of what sustainable products are meant to achieve.

Sustainability as a trend: Where do we draw the line?

Amber Duhs, Writer
June 4, 2024
Ryan Alderman '25 stands in front of the spring section at Trader Joe's with a smile on her face. Throughout her shift, she can be seen carrying out a variety of tasks like bagging, stocking and helping customers, which allows her to have a great time at her job while she converses with a variety of people.

Taking a look at where Foothill Tech’s Class of 2025 is working

Julia Brossia, Beatrice Barnes, and Amber Duhs
May 18, 2024
On May 1, 2024, a handful of swimmers from the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) swim team headed to Mt. San Antonio College after qualifying for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division 3 prelims. The girls 400-yard freestyle relay team, composed of Cynthia Hu '26, Camilla Lewis '25, Rihanna Samples '25, and Mikaela Clabaugh '25, placed 22nd overall with a time of 3:59.13, shaving off milliseconds from their previous best time.

[Photo] Foothill Tech athletes stir up water at CIF

Dane Dodos, Reporter
May 6, 2024
On May 1, 2024, a handful of swimmers from the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) swim team headed to Mt. San Antonio College after qualifying for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division 3 prelims. The girls 400-yard freestyle relay team, composed of Cynthia Hu '26, Camilla Lewis '25, Rihanna Samples '25, and Mikaela Clabaugh '25, placed 22nd overall with a time of 3:59.13, shaving off milliseconds from their previous best time.

[Photo] Boys’ tennis defeats Downey to move on to round three of CIF

Conor White, Reporter
May 6, 2024
Tune in to this episode of the FDP-TV for upcoming news coverage and updates on the spring sports season. Additionally, stay tuned for new A&E and features articles on the site.

FDP-TV: Season 2, Episode 13

Sofia Patiño, Amber Duhs, Julia Brossia, Chance Leandro, Dane Dodos, and Maggie Lay
April 21, 2024
Every year, millions of students start to begin the next phase of their life, applying to colleges in the hopes of being accepted. However, college admission rates have been slowly plummeting, making it harder for each generation of students to get accepted into their college of choice. These low rates force students to dedicate more of their time towards studying, ridding their chances of experiencing and enjoying their high school life. Join writer Amber Duhs as she discusses the effect of college admissions on the high school experience.

Opinion: Competitive college admissions are ruining the High School experience

Amber Duhs, Writer
March 31, 2024
On the sunny afternoons of March 19-21, 2024, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) swim team competed in the Ventura County Championship swim meet, one of the biggest meets of the season. Featuring schools from across the county, and held at the Ventura Aquatic Center, the competition was fierce, but the team did well. The girls' and boys' teams placed sixth and 11th overall, respectively. The team will compete next on March 26, against Villanova Preparatory School, jumping in to the start of their 2024 season.

[Video] Foothill Tech dives into the competition at the Ventura County Swim Championships

Chance Leandro, Reporter
March 24, 2024
The Teach 5 Proposition and the end to VUEA negotiations impacted many teachers and staff throughout the Ventura Unified School District. With Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) faculty reflecting on this scheduling inequity, the struggle is ongoing for a final solution to benefit all parties, including students.

VUEA closes Article VIII negotiations with VUSD

Amber Duhs and Audrey Szijj
February 15, 2024
The Hugh O'Brian Youth (HOBY) Leadership Foundation is an organization that focuses on fostering strong leadership skills in high school students across the country. Each year, two lucky sophomores at Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) who represent the key qualities of HOBY are nominated to attend a three-day conference and learn through seminars and guest speakers about how innovation and community service can connect to their leadership skills and how they can use their new knowledge in their respective communities.

The HOBY Conference and Foothill Tech’s sophomore attendees

Amber Duhs, Writer
January 20, 2024
Inspired by the Humans of New York project, the Foothill Dragon Press staffers aspire to highlight students pursing their passions and interests.

Humans of Foothill: Quan Nguyen

Amber Duhs, Writer
January 11, 2024
2023 was a year to remember! Join the Foothill Dragon Press's writing section as they discuss popular topics such as movies, concerts, video games, books and fashion, along with year-shaping events at Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech). The Best of 2023 series has everything from old favorites to newcomers.

Best of 2023: A year in review

Ruby Jenkins, Camilla Lewis, Isheeta Pal, Beatrice Barnes, Julia Brossia, Amber Duhs, Paula Gonzalez, Emilie Huovinen, Kelly Quinn, Layla Solomon, Audrey Szijj, Kalea Eggertsen, and Jane Kim
January 1, 2024
Concerts have always been extremely popular, as they are able to bring together large groups of people together in solidarity to support their favorite artist, and this year was no different. Join our writers as they delve into some of the best concerts of 2023, featuring artists such as Taylor Swift and Harry Styles.

Best of 2023: Concerts

Ruby Jenkins, Beatrice Barnes, Isheeta Pal, Lily Toreja, and Amber Duhs
December 31, 2023
2023 was a compelling year when it came to movies. Hollywood was booming, with "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" taking over the summer and "Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse" setting the bar high for animation in the early half of the year. Ranging from comedy to horror, theaters to streaming, movies were at an all time high in 2023.

Best of 2023: Movies

Camilla Lewis, Layla Solomon, Amber Duhs, Kelly Quinn, Paula Gonzalez, and Julia Brossia
December 31, 2023
As of October 2021, Ethnic Studies and Social Justice is set to become a new addition to the A-G college readiness and graduation requirements that bound all California high schools together. Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) along with other high schools in the Ventura Unified School District (VUSD) will begin this implementation starting in the 2025-2026 school year, making it an official graduation requirement for the class of 2030. Read more to learn about this significant shift in graduation requirements as well as why the standards are changing and how.

VUSD leads the way for new Ethnic Studies and Social Justice graduation requirement

Amber Duhs and Lily Toreja
November 18, 2023
The media center at Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) is a great place for students to check out books outside of English class. It holds a variety of different genres from historical to comic books for students to enjoy.

Voice of the Dragon: What are the teachers of Foothill Tech reading?

Amber Duhs, Writer
October 12, 2023
Arctic Monkeys graced Inglewood, Calif. with their presence three times throughout their highly anticipated tour. The band did a fantastic job at performing both slower and more uptempo songs, delivering a mix of fan favorites off of their album "AM", to more unknown and slow songs from their new album, "The Car".

Arctic Monkeys rocks Los Angeles with their long-awaited “The Car” Tour

Amber Duhs, Writer
October 5, 2023
On Sept. 22, 2023, Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) competed in their first Tri-County Athletic (TCAA) league meet. Foothill Tech races with five girls on varsity, including Danika Swanson-Rico '25, Bennett Rodman '26, Kalea Eggertsen '26, Emma Anderson '26 and Isabella Efner '25. They warm-up on the start line, exchanging words of encouragement and waiting for the queue to begin the race.

Cross country starts off strong at first league meet of the 2023 season

Amber Duhs and Julia Brossia
September 24, 2023
In the teen show “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” an adaption of the popular Young Adult novel, protagonist Belly Conklin navigates her love life in a triangle between brothers Jeremiah and Conrad Fisher.

“The Summer I Turned Pretty”: In Defense of the Fisher Boys

Camilla Lewis, Ruby Jenkins, and Amber Duhs
September 23, 2023

Meet Foothill Tech’s three newest teachers

Amber Duhs and Audrey Szijj
September 9, 2023
Lynna Nguyen ‘24, Nathan Turner '24, Jaslyn Shirk '24 and Lola Tennison '24 all stand proudly as they receive their award for their project in the Energy Efficiency to Mitigate Climate Change and Ocean Acidification (EECCOA) Project. The project, which the students competed in through Mrs. Hunts’ Advanced Placement (AP) Environmental Science Class is an important STEAM competition which takes place every year. Read more to learn about both the project and this years winners.

The EECCOA competition: Reducing Foothill’s carbon footprint one piece of trash at a time

Amber Duhs and Beatrice Barnes
June 17, 2023
When walking in the office, you can be expected to be met by the friendly, helpful faces of Kena Camarena, Jean Barrett and Lissa Kellner-Elizarraras. They strive to make Foothill Tech a better place each and everyday while assisting parents, students and faculty peers.

Meet the front office staff of Foothill Tech

Amber Duhs, Writer
June 7, 2023
On yet another sunny day in Ojai Calif, shoppers eagerly wander the streets as they await for a vendor to catch their eyes. The Farmers Market, which is held every Sunday, crowds the thriving streets of “the Arcade” and sells an array of locally made or sourced products.

The Ojai Farmers Market: a local community of support

Amber Duhs, Writer
June 4, 2023
The recent decision by the administration at Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) to remove the Valedictorian and Salutatorian awards for students with high grade point averages has left many new feelings amongst students. Learn more about this decision and its implications on the Foothill Tech community below.

The pros and cons of Foothill Tech’s elimination of Valedictorian and Salutatorian

Ruby Jenkins and Amber Duhs
May 18, 2023

The cons of Foothill Tech’s elimination of Valedictorian and Salutatorian

Amber Duhs, Writer
May 15, 2023
The Shoyu Ramen: This ramen bowl combines deliciously unique flavors to satisfy your palate and bring together the perfect savory treat for any afternoon spent at The Collection.

[Photo] Silverlake Ramen

April 6, 2023
The Annex, a food hall found within The Collection at RiverPark in Oxnard, California, is bustling with activity and energy in the late afternoon. As people enter the building, they are welcomed by an array of restaurants, cafes and more. The food hall offers each customer a unique experience with the variety of dishes, desserts and beverages to choose from, leaving most customers satisfied and full by the end of their visit.

Culinary haven: Discovering delights at The Annex Food Hall

Julia Brossia, Ruby Jenkins, Ella Asher, Camilla Lewis, Maggie Lay, and Amber Duhs
April 6, 2023
The Hugh O'Brian Youth (HOBY) Leadership Foundation is a non-profit organization and award given to two sophomores each year who are nominated by their teachers or other Foothill Tech faculty. They are nominated as a reward for showing great promise and potential in leadership, in hopes they will make a difference in their schools or communities after attending the three day leadership seminar.

Sophomore Spotlight: The HOBY Award

Amber Duhs, Writer
March 16, 2023
Juana Vega sits in her office, smiling at the camera while holding the sign given to her for National School Counseling Week. Many students, and parents as well, came together and filled out nice notes for the counselors that were then printed out and put on a sign for each of the four counselors, showing the school’s appreciation.

Helping students dream big: School counselors and their importance to the Foothill Tech community

Amber Duhs and Rihanna Samples
February 24, 2023
Recent salary negotiations for Ventura Unified School District employees has affected Foothill Tech teachers, students, and administrators alike.

Ventura Unified teachers’ wage agreement: How Foothill Tech has been affected

Amber Duhs and Beatrice Barnes
February 12, 2023
In Michelle Frumkins' Advanced Placement (AP) Statistics class, students chatter amongst each other, debating the possible ways to solve an equation.

A guide to Advanced Placement Calculus and Statistics

Amber Duhs, Writer
January 31, 2023
There were many new changes and old favorites at Foothill Tech in 2022; these are some that made students and teachers smile.

Best of 2022: Best of Foothill Tech

Camilla Lewis, Julia Brossia, and Amber Duhs
January 10, 2023
This pickle ornament tradition described by Emily Falls ‘25 was a charming experience and lots of fun. Hunting for it seemed to be more of a challenge than originally anticipated as it was tucked within the similarly colored leaves of the Christmas tree, but searching high and low for this shiny ornament made the experience very interactive.

Foothill Tech’s favorite winter traditions

Amber Duhs and Rihanna Samples
December 2, 2022
Sprinkled with rain, the bright yellow signs lined up on the grass across from Kimball Park demand attention from anyone who passes by. These signs are some of the many different signs littered throughout Ventura County that call attention to the upcoming elections held on Nov. 8 for Ventura City Council and other different measures both locally and statewide. All voters have the responsibility of voting on these highly important matters, but it can be more difficult for voters who have just turned 18 due to their lack of previous experience.

Student voters: The future of America

Camilla Lewis, Amber Duhs, and Ruby Jenkins
November 8, 2022
The media as a whole impacts the perspectives of young teens in many different ways, including the romanticization of the work force. Take a closer look at this very topic with writer Amber Duhs in the article below.

Opinion: How the constant romanticization of the workforce in media affects teenagers

Amber Duhs, Writer
October 23, 2022
Get ready for Halloween with this extensive, creepy movie list!

15 movies to get you in the fall spirit

Amber Duhs, Writer
October 11, 2022
The 2022 live action remake of “The Little Mermaid” sheds new light on the important role of representation in media.

Opinion: Disney’s live action remake of “The Little Mermaid” reminds us of the significance of representation

Amber Duhs and Camilla Lewis
October 1, 2022
The Ojai Art Center displays its "Just the Ticket" banner as eager audience members begin to arrive.

“Just the Ticket”: Contentment in being alone

Amber Duhs and Ruby Jenkins
September 5, 2022
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