Meet Mills’ Very Own Underwater Hockey World Competitors

By: Warren Shiu, Staff Writer Over the summer, twins Kellen Duong (12) and Jayden Duong (12) participated in the Underwater Hockey Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) 6th Under 19 World Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, putting their best foot…

Mills Construction Due to Finish in November

By: Elijah Cabatic, Staff Writer The construction in front of Mills is projected to be finished by November and will include a complete redesign of the front of the school and the total removal or encapsulation of the remaining transite…

Why Our Brunch Needs to Be Longer

By: Matthew Du, Staff Writer Have you ever felt rushed while you are eating? Well, that is the case for Mills High School students as they are rushing to brunch everyday to try to get their food early so they…

College Courses Over the Summer: A Shortcut to Success or Stress?

By: Amelia Naughten, News Editor Summer is the time when high schoolers get a break from their rigorous workload and routines–it’s when we relax and spend quality time with friends and family. It’s also when students get jobs, look for…

It Ended With This

Janelle Pantilon, Features Editor The highly anticipated movie adaption of the novel “It Ends With Us” by Colleen Hoover, has faced a lot of criticism since its release on August 9th, 2024. A rotten tomatoes score of 57% from the…

FCCLA shines at the STAR competitions

By Eduardo Galindo, Copy Editor On June 29, FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) headed for a five day journey to Seattle, Wash. for a national conference with fellow FCCLA groups and competed in the STAR (Students Taking…

Restricted Entrance to Football Games

By: Kalyssa Chu, Staff Writer The Mills administration is prohibiting the entrance of non-Mills high schoolers—excluding visitors from the opposing school—into football games as part of new safety procedures implemented during this year’s football season. The rule will be enforced…

Lainey Tsai Plays With Team USA Olympian

By: Isabelle Yang, Sports Editor Over Labor Day weekend, Lainey Tsai (12), varsity volleyball player, had the opportunity to join Justine Wong-Orantes’ 9-man team and play in the Back to the Bay 79th Annual North American Chinese International Volleyball Tournament…

A Letter from the 2024-2025 Editors-in-Chief

By: Elaine Chan and Phoebe Piserchio, Editors-in-Chief A warm welcome to the student and staff community at Mills from your Editors-in-Chief at the Thunderbolt, Phoebe Piserchio and Elaine Chan. Being our senior year, we are so honored to have the…

SMUHSD to Make New Phone Policy by Spring for Phone-Free Schools Act

By: Tianyou Lee, Staff Writer NOTE: This article was drafted before Gov. Newsom signed the Phone-Free Schools Act on Sep. 23, 2024. At the end of last August, the Phone-Free Schools Act—which would require school districts to limit at-school phone…