Sharing common experiences creates powerful connections between high school students.  There are several signature experiences that help to establish bonds between Campolindo peers.

Here is La Puma‘s list of Campolindo rites of passage:

10. All-Nighters or early mornings. Campolindo may hold titles for its academic record and athletic programs, but what its students are unrivaled at is procrastination. Experts at having too much on their plate, every student has found him or herself setting an alarm for 5:00 a.m. or simply not sleeping at all in order to study or finish a project.

9. Mr. Macy’s hot cocoa celebration. A great way to send students into winter break, football coach and geometry teacher Kevin Macy is renowned for his annual hot chocolate/apple cider bash. Macy’s room is packed with students looking to warm up with a hot beverage.

8. Sticker from Ms. S. Attendance technician Stephanie Sliwinski makes campus a happier place by handing out delightful stickers and showing pictures of her pugs. Even before she became the attendance technician, Sliwinski was a popular substitute teacher, never failing to brighten up a boring school day.

 7. Chocolate muffins. If you haven’t tasted the glory that is the cafeteria’s marvelous chocolate muffin, I’m sorry. The long brunch lines made up of muffin-lovers and other hungry breakfast-skippers may be annoying, but the melted chocolate chips coupled with the crunchy top make this muffin worth the calories.

6. After-school Nation’s runs. Walking to Nation’s in the Rheem Shopping Center after school on Fridays or after a basketball game is indisputably an iconic freshman year Campo-ism. Creamy milkshakes and top-notch grilled cheeses always hit the spot when winding down from a busy school week.

5. Crying into your Textbook. The pressure of being a Campolindo student has led all of us at one time or another to break down. There’s no shame. Feeling overwhelmed by all the AP’s or simply sobbing in response to Problem 1 on your math homework is ubiquitous at a school like ours. No 1 can muscle through the 4 long years of assessments and grades without letting a tear or 2 fall, and we’re better for it… right?

4. Fender-benders. At 1 point or another, we will all see a careless collision between students. Either during the early morning scramble for parking in the junior lot or in after school traffic, some students mix up their friend’s Honda Civic for the right side of the road. Every once in a while, a new dent or scratch will just appear on your side door…Thanks Campolindo.

3. Prom pictures. Something which parents and Leadership raise money for years in advance, the junior prom and senior ball never fail to disappoint. Rivaling the glamour of Hollywood tropes, Instragam is always exploding with pictures of students in their spiffy attire. They are nights everyone should experience.

2. Friday Night Lights. While it is a bit cliche for football games to play such an integral role in campus culture, these games are attended for a reason. Standing under the radiation of the stadium lights while watching a ball being thrown around is more fun than you think, with everyone wearing their most spirited attire. Also, for some reason, the Doritos from the Snack Shack just taste better.

1. Attending class amidst a natural disaster. Whether it’s smoke from the Napa firestorm or power-outage darkness, or perhaps, even a hysteria over a pandemic, Campolindo students have perfected the ability to learn under unusual circumstances. The Coronavirus is just the latest in a string of strange forces attempting to disrupt our scholastic pursuits.