The Pen Newspaper

OUR LATEST ISSUE

VOL XXXV| ISSUE 1 | OCT 28, 2025

News

Measure SOS Makes a Splash

Sophia Duzich• October 28, 2025

With deteriorating concrete, a rusted floor and chipping tile, the more than 50 year old pool at Miraleste Intermediate School was in desperate need of repair. At a groundbreaking ceremony...

The State Assembly Race

Mason Kim • October 28, 2025

In June, Paul Seo, the Mayor Pro Tem of Rancho Palos Verdes (RPV), announced that he is running for California’s 66th State Assembly District. As Mayor Pro Tem, Seo helped lead the...

AVID Tutoring

Money Down the Drain

Celanie Neal • October 28, 2025

Broken mirrors, sinks pulled out of walls and destroyed locks all once used to be the norm for the boys bathrooms at Peninsula. Last year saw a drastic increase in vandalism, resulting in...

Photo courtesy of Paul Seo For Assembly

Opinion

A Necessary Evil?

Brianna Ta• October 28,2025

In wake of a state-wide ban on cell phone use in public schools across Texas, and the more recent ban in Los Angeles Unified School District, phone use in Palos Verdes schools may...

A Familiar Face

Billy Huong • October 28, 2025

In an effort to salvage a divided United States, President Donald Trump has revived a former title to the Department of Defense: the Department of War (the White House). On Sept. 5...

Photography by Esperanza Engle-Tseng

Focus

Facing Freshman Fears

Ingu Batyerreul• October 28, 2025

Walking into high school for the first time can feel like stepping into a whole new world. The campus is bigger, more confusing and everyone else seems to be fitting in fast...

Terrific New Teachers

Sydney Malicse • October 28, 2025

A new school year means fresh beginnings and unfamiliar faces, and Palos Verdes Peninsula High School is excited to welcome three teachers who are here to make a difference in...

Meet Peninsula's New Principal

Gunnar Lee • October 28, 2025

A new school year means fresh beginnings and unfamiliar faces, and Palos Verdes Peninsula High School is excited to welcome three teachers who are here to make a difference in...

Student Life

Katseye's Dance Effect

Paris Bahrami • October 28, 2025

“Gnarly,” “Touch” “Gabriela”– sound familiar? These names are none other than some of girl group KATSEYE’s most popular songs. Before creating these songs, the members were finalists..

Through Soren's Lenses

Alisa Sekine • October 28, 2025

Whether it is the hottest summer blockbusters or an indie classic, most teenagers can agree that they love movies. But for senior Soren Kim, they are more than just a fun two hours...

From School to Spotify

Olivia Kim • October 28, 2025

Despite growing up surrounded by the sounds of classical music, sophomore Davis Yi-Naito has begun exploring another side of music: composing original rap songs. From writing...

Finding Harmonies

Sophia Shen• October 28, 2025

Acapella is a musical style performed without instrumental accompaniment, using only the human voice to create melody, harmony and rhythm...

Pictured : Soren Kim

Sports

Ready, Set, Selfie?

Khalil Santiago • October 28,2025

For decades, the United States Open Tennis Championships have been the battleground for matches between tennis legends like Arthur Ashe, Serena Williams and Roger Federer...

Game, Set, Panthers

Kyra McGath• October 28,2025

For the past decade, the girls varsity volleyball team has fought against one of their rivals, Chadwick every year. Each game, Chadwick seemed to come out on top, but that all changed...

Kicking it to Columbia

Noah Vaidyan• October 28, 2025

At only 16 years old, Junior Allie Chang has already committed to Columbia University’s women’s soccer team. As a sophomore last season, Chang led the Peninsula girls varsity soccer team...

Photo courtesy of Peninsula Girls Volleyball

“Grey Goose Honey Deuce” by slgckgc from Flickr, used under CC 2.0

Arts & Entertainment

Third Summer's the Charm

Gianna Geerdts• October 28, 2025

This summer, the names Belly, Conrad and Jeremiah have been everywhere as the third and final season of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” was released. From viral TikToks...

"K-pop Demon Hunters" Strikes a Chord

Emmersyn Hadley • October 28, 2025

The new movie “K-Pop Demon Hunters” has created a buzz in the film industry ever since its highly anticipated release on Aug. 23. In just a matter of weeks, the movie skyrocketed to over...

“‘The Paper’ Official Trailer” from Peacock

The Pen Takes on "The Paper"

Colin Kim • October 28, 2025

“The Paper,” a new spin-off series of the hit show “The Office,” has recently released its first season for streaming on Peacock on Sept. 4th. Greg Daniels, the creator of...

“Season 1 Bloopers” from Wikimedia Commons by Prime Video Australia and New Zealand, used under CC 3 | Cropped from original

"K-Pop Demon Hunters" from Netflix