the 2023 New year, new faces

In2020, this front page was filled with photos of students graduating from the passenger seats of their cars, picking up diplomas at a drivethough station at the front of campus. School was reduced to somber, once-a-week emails and assignments on Canvas.

In 2021, this front page bore the headline “An unconventional year comes to a close,” with photos of socially-distanced students in masks finally returning to classrooms. School was still confined to a ten-inch screen that never seemed to work.

In 2022, we declared the school year one of “adjustment.” Yet again, school didn’t feel normal — it was overshadowed by the drone of portable HVAC machines, six feet of space and the tension over mask mandates on campus.

Finally, in 2023, school actually feels like school. Back in October, we printed the words “New Year, New Faces” in a bold font across our front page. Just seeing human faces after a two-year pandemic was eye-opening. It was strange at first, because “normal” — normal rallies, normal football games, normal dances, normal tests — felt new. We wrote the phrase “for the first time since the pandemic” so many times it felt redundant. Now, though — and just in time for the class of 2023 to graduate — life at Burlingame really is back to normal.

Only roughly 400 students have witnessed the past four years at 1 Mangini Way. On May 26, they will frame their diplomas, etch their names and leave. On the pages that follow, we celebrate their unprecedented high school journeys — and their equally unprecedented futures to come.

The Burlingame B

Editor-in-Chief Jackson Spenner

Managing Editor Elise Spenner

Design Editor Sophia Bella

Sports Editor Michelle Moshkovoy

Head Photographer Jake Rothstein

Business Manager Alex Kelly

Social Media Manager Amanda Nolan

Web Editor Arda Inegol

Diversity Coordinator Lizzy Wan

Social Coordinator Kristie Kim

Copy Editors

Arshia Chakravartti

Isabel Liu

Senior Reporter

Daria Burnosova

Staff Reporters

Theo Au-Yeung

Athena Bostonmaer

Jeannine Chiang

Danny Conway

Sophia Doss

Natalie Gyde

Joelle Huysmans

Brinda Iyer

Abby Knight

Will Kriner

Ana Lunaparra

Ellie Neuman

Zachary Newman

Sophia Puzon

Ruby Rosenquist

Zach Shapiro

Teacher Adviser

Melissa Murphy

Policy Statement:

The Burlingame B is a student-run newspaper with the sole purpose of providing an open forum for student expression. Anything printed represents the opinion of the writer, but not necessarily that of the Burlingame B staff, the administration, or the faculty of Burlingame High School, or anyone affliated with the San Mateo Union High School District. The Burlingame B does not discriminate against race, political orientation, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability. Although The Burlingame B will never refuse to publish guest submission based on the aforementioned factors, we reserve the right to edit or not publish them.

Letters to the Editor

Disagree with the writers? Bring your letters to the room A120 or email them to <theburlingameb@smuhsd.org>.

Letters may be considered for publication. The Burlingame B reserves the right to edit for clarity, length, and accuracy. We welcome all comments.

Website: www.theburlingameb.org

Phone: (650) 558-2899

Email: theburlingameb@gmail.com

Address: 1 Mangini Way, Burlingame, CA 94010