Social:
The sense of community that the administration takes pride in is essentially surface-level.
There’s a type of de-facto segregation—both in race and academic pathways—evident at lunch, where the MPR divides our campus in two. On the ‘El Camino’ side, you see white students; on the other side, you see students of color. Remarkably, a sense of community still connects everyone.
“Students mostly mingle with anyone—they might have a main group, but there aren’t any hardcore cliques,” senior Joey Ashby said. “I don’t think anyone on either side has a problem with the other.”
Spirit:
The only reason I didn’t give this an F is because there is a handful of students who rep Sequoia with pride. As a whole, our spirit leaves something to be desired. Look at the football game Sequoia had against Half Moon Bay, where they fought for the first place bid: about 80 students showed up.
“Club David was—without a doubt—the most lit student section in the Central Coast Section (CCS), but that’s [all that Sequoia has],” senior Jackson Hohe said.
On spirit days, maybe one in every 30 students participates. This overall lack of school spirit is a catalyst for an endless cycle of lameness at Sequoia.
Academic:
Sequoia excels nowhere more than in academics; we are blessed to have such a dedicated staff.
Despite its overall excellence, Sequoia’s academics are not flawless.
“Sometimes it seems like there are teachers that don’t care—it’s rare, but it still happens,” Hohe said. “Most of the time, though, I can get all the help I need.”
While there are concerns, the respect and love given and received by staff proves that Sequoia excels here.
Athletic:
Few other schools in the district have experienced greater overall athletic success than Sequoia.
During my four years, many teams did well. The baseball team, for example, has made CCS every year—often making a nice run in the playoffs.
A large part of this success is due to the pride of the community.
“Our boosters club is more involved and more organized than most of the other ones,” senior Moses Tonga said. “They really go the extra mile.”
Tonga also has critiques.
“We need fewer restrictions. Too many kids are turned away from sports by restrictions and rules. People should just be able to let loose. Let the coaches coach and the players play—cut out all the [unnecessary rules].”
Another contributor to Sequoia’s athletics is coaching. Usually, only the head coach is paid, but many other coaches play important roles.
“Every day these coaches come out and bust tail to make our teams better, and they usually don’t get paid,” Tonga said.