Crocheting & Knitting Club offers stress relief
By Jayleen Vazquez and Amariah Hernandez
In a school environment that often feels stressful, the Crocheting and Knitting Club offers students a moment to slow down. Meetings are filled with conversations, and the movement of hands turning yarn into art.
For many members, the club is more than a hobby. It’s a creative way to relieve stress and express themselves without pressure.
The club welcomes everyone, with beginners and experienced members sitting side by side, learning from each other and celebrating progress rather than perfection. Students who are interested in joining are encouraged to attend the weekly meetings which take place every Monday in Room 45.
Freshman Kara Barber, who joined the club with no prior experience, shared that the environment made learning feel easy and enjoyable.
“It’s really stress relieving,” Barber said. “Everyone just hangs out, talks, and works on their projects together.”
Currently, the members are working on a quilt made entirely of individual granny squares. Members of the crocheting and knitting club, sophomore Emylee Ahn, Serena Nguyen, freshman Nicolas Macedo, Kara Barber, and junior Bryan Kamekona, and Katelyn Rodriguez each contributed their own squares, crocheted in different styles, tensions, and color combinations. Though every piece is unique, the squares come together as one unified project.
Members use tapestry needles to sew the squares through the back loops, carefully connecting each piece by hand. The process is slow but meaningful, supporting the sense of teamwork that defines the club.
The bunny took about three hours to complete. Macedo has also made gifts for friends, including a handmade bag. “I sewed all the [handbag] pieces together and added lining fabric inside so it would be more durable.” Macedo said.
Macedo learned to crochet from his grandma, and now he uses YouTube to learn even more cool tricks such as crocheting little frogs and mushroom plushies.
Since then, crocheting has become one of his favorite ways to relax. “It’s really fun, it’s also relaxing. You just keep going, and it feels calming and stress-relieving,” Macedo said.
Macedo also enjoys making gifts for friends. He is currently making small keychains and contributing granny squares to the blanket project for the crocheting and knitting club. As he continues to learn new techniques, Macedo hopes to keep improving his skills.
Though each student of the crocheting and knitting club brings out their own style and skill level, every project reflects the same passion and proves that small stitches and crocheting can create something much bigger.
Students share culinary vision at competition
By Elena Solis, Campus Clubs Editor
Senior Andrea Alvarado had a vision for creating a unique Argentine-Italian-Spanish fusion restaurant called Piatto Asador along with the slogan: Rooted by Tradition, Fired by Flavor!
Alvarado, along with a team of other culinary students, would pitch the business model at the annual California ProStart Cup restaurant management competition. But a few months into the planning, her team dropped out, leaving Alvarado scrambling to put together a new team and get them up to speed.
“Our last team had many different time commitments going on and it was very hard for us to balance and meet accordingly, making it very difficult for us to be a team,” Alvarado said.
Sophomores Mason Buchi, Jalyce Northgrave and junior Viviana Sifuentes agreed to step in and participate at the California Prostart Cup 2026 on March 2 and March 3 in Los Angeles at the Proud Bird. Alvarado’s team participated in the management competition while seniors Benjamin Dennis and Eduardo Maya participated in the “Dress the Burger” competition, presented by Habit Burger & Grill. Maya was involved in a year-long ProStart Internship program and received a $1,000 scholarship.
Eighteen schools competed in the management competition, and FUHS placed 6th overall.
“Our team members really understood what it means to create a restaurant and what it means for Fullerton to even be at this competition, especially because we are the only school in the district who competes,” she said.
Although Alvarado had months to rehearse the script to present their idea, Buchi, Sifuentes, and Northgrave had less than a month to prepare.
“I gave them their script about three weeks ago. Um, we didn’t really practice with any other teachers,” Alvarado said. “I got it down really well, my energy was very high compared to the others. So I think that was one of our weakest qualities.”
For the past six years, Fullerton has placed in the top 3, but never first. This year was Fullerton’s first year not placing top 3 in California.
“We got 6th place. It’s definitely not what we wanted, but it’s an experience that I think was valuable to all of us,” Alvarado said. “It definitely shows that the amount of work you put in is what you will receive.”
Although the management team placed lower than expected, the experience was rewarding enough for the team. “It was pretty fun. It was good to speak in front of people and work on public speaking,” Buchi said.
Fullerton becomes the Red Hawks
By Alicia Bennett
Fullerton Union High School will change its mascot from the Indians to the Red Hawks over the summer. The results of the final vote were announced Feb. 11.
The Red Hawks was selected over a five-month process including public meetings, student voting, and a Community Action Council consisting of students, parents, and staff.
“Student voice was everything,” said FUHS Principal Jon Caffrey, who noted that about 1,100 students participated in voting.
Caffrey says that the school is working with a company to form a branding sheet containing every logo that will be permitted for school programs.
“That’ll be anything that goes on athletic teams or clubs, or even logos that go into a yearbook on a wall, on the gym floor, on banners, whatever it may be,” Caffrey said. “We want to bring back the tradition of being red and white and being very structured with our mascot.”
While the state will provide partial financial support, as this change is being made because of state law, the district will also fund any changes required around campus.
“The district’s really going to be the ones that step in and support us. So they’ve been super supportive.” Caffrey said.
Senior Aimee Reger, who was on the Community Action Council, was happy with the process and believes the Red Hawks is representative of what the students want. “I feel like our end result of the Red Hawk really tells what our community wants in tradition and history,” she said.
Reger contributed to the selection of the Red Hawk by ensuring that the hawk vote wasn’t split. There were initially three variants of hawk (Red Hawks, Red-Tailed Hawks, Hawks) going against the Falcons, so she posed the idea of holding an additional vote to narrow the hawks down to one option.
“I felt if we sent out a form with three different variants of a hawk, then something else would win because it has the most votes, but wouldn’t be truly representative of what students want,” Reger said. “Let’s say the hawks had a 20%, a 30% and a 10%. But then the Falcons would have a 40%, then the Falcons will win when you see like a good 60% of the population wanted the hawks, they just didn’t know what variant of it.”
Caffrey was also happy with the process. “I’m glad it was me who got to go through it, because it brought me closer to school,” he said. “It made me fall in love more with our community and our school.”
Mrs. Enriquez: Classified Employee of the Year
By Marley Orejel and Elena Solis
Not knowing where your child is can be extremely stressful for parents, especially when they are supposed to be in school seven hours a day, five days a week. As a parent herself, attendance clerk Janet Enriquez understands the importance of a student’s attendance and the reassurance families need.
At FUHS, Enriquez is often the first person students see when they need to leave campus, but her role goes far beyond the attendance window. She works as a communicator, translator, and organizer who keeps the school’s attendance system running smoothly.
Enriquez manages paperwork, answers calls from parents, and assists students at the attendance window, often handling everything by herself. Her diligence and patience makes it clear why she was selected Classified Employee of the Year by teachers and staff.
“I mean, she does it all,” counselor Han Kim said. “She runs reports, she handles the window, she’s constantly up and down from her seat helping students.”
This week Fullerton hosted the arts assembly featuring dance production, choir, band, and theater students, with the assistance of ASB in directing FUHS students into the auditorium. In total 220 students were excused from their classes to participate in the assembly, and it’s up to Enriquez to ensure their attendance is correctly recorded.
Enriquez must go through each student’s records and correct their attendance. Students needed to be excused from periods ranging from zero to third, depending on how long they were involved in the assembly.
Some only required one period excused, while others needed all four. After completing these excused absences, Enriquez’s job doesn’t end there.
She must then repeat the process at the end of the day for at least 70 student athletes who need to leave before sixth period to make it to their games, competitions, and matches scheduled for that day.
In addition to her work managing attendance, Enriquez also helps bridge communication between the school and many families at FUHS. As a fluent Spanish speaker, she also is able to assist parents and students who feel more comfortable speaking Spanish.
“We love that Mrs. Enriquez is a bilingual employee because she can communicate effectively with all of our families,” assistant principal Leticia Gonzales said. “Her diverse background enhances the school communities, accessibility, and support.”
Enriquez is a vital part of the FUHS community. The work that she puts in might not always be obvious to students, but it’s what she does behind the scenes that shows her dedication to go above and beyond in her work.
