The Dragon’s Tale provided live coverage of Convention 2023. This page contains our updates and election news posted throughout the day. Further coverage of the Slate-elect to come in the following weeks.

2:15 – LAST UPDATE – School day/Convention has ended. Our Live Coverage of The Dragon’s Tale has been made possible by the Newspaper class. Visit our news site for continuing coverage of the Slate-elect.

2:12 – The votes have been counted and Slate 2 has won the election, beating Slate 3.

2:03 – The final ballot is officially sent to ALL student’s school emails. Voting will last seven minutes.

2:00 – Slates leave the stage to go convince students to vote for them in the final caucus.

1:57 – Slate 1 calls everyone who has been fuzzyed to go to the stage so they can walk the catwalk.

1:55 – Victoria Hernandez-Padilla gives a speech for “value lives not violence”, a student-led organization advocating for resources to schools so that students and staff know how to properly handle violent situations given recent events. At 4:00 on Wednesday, March 8, meet at the Santa Rosa courthouse to stand with the Santa Rosa students.

1:51 – Slates agree that Alaska’s delegates were the best dressed. This means they also have earned a prize from the leadership class.

1:49 – Slates now have to vote on which state’s outfits are best.

1:48 – The slates agreed that the best poster is the Washington poster which means they earn a prize from the leadership class. They also say that the runner-up is the Alaska group.

1:43 – Delegate’s posters are brought up to the stage to have the slates vote on which they think is the best.

1:38 – Sam Cutting performs “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrdon on his electric guitar

1:32 – “What makes your slate unique and how will you use that to further represent the school?”

• Slate 2 – They all went to different elementary schools. They have a diverse slate so they know that they can actually represent student voices. They also all come from different friend groups. Also, Thinley Sherpa is the only person out of all the slates that have been in high school leadership. They also believe,  “slate two is running because we’re actually qualified”.
• Slate 3 – the way that they have been best friends for many years. They KNOW that they work together.

1:28 – “How would you get more school spirit?”

• Slate 2 – inclusion, by elevating voices, mental health resources, and diversity. They know that people who don’t want to go to school, aren’t going to be proud of their school.
• Slate 3 – more events

1:24 – “How do you plan to spread kindness?”

• Slate 2 – They will get to the point of why people are not being kind rather than take ‘fix’ their unkindness.
• Slate 3 – They think that fights are started by a lack of kindness. They will continue to keep the wellness center because it can keep people positive.

1:24 – The slate debate has begun. slate 1 is asking the questions.

1:22 – “Who is the best yard duty on campus?

• Slate 2 – “we love bebe!”
• Slate 3 – loves bebe because of her attitude and her supporting all slates

1:21 – “Is a hotdog a taco or a sandwich”

• Slate 2 – “No, it’s what it is. it’s a hot dog”
• Slate 3 – “its slices are connected, its a taco”

1:19 – “Is water wet?”

• Slate 2 – “water is dry. when it touches another object, it gets that wet but it itself is wet.”
• Slate 3 – “we think water is wet because it’s what makes things wet.”

1:19 – Dragon’s court begins to ask the slates questions.

1:18 – The final slates battle it out with their best pickup lines.

1:14 – Slate 5 says their goodbyes to the crowd and says that they don’t regret it and they recommend this fun process. They say they endorse slate 3 and sounds of approval and disapproval erupt from the audience.

1:13 – Oliver Dorantes announces that slate 5 is the slate that has been voted out. This leaves only slate 2 and slate 3

12:34 – Oliver Dorantes baits the delegates into thinking he will announce who was eliminated, however, he then says he will tell everyone after lunch.

12:34 – Student Voice, Oliver Dorantes informs delegates that lunch is provided so everyone stands up before being allowed to leave.

12:34 – Voting has ended.

12:14 – 2nd Caucus has begun. Voting for Round 2 will last ten minutes. It will be the last round of voting reserved only for delegates.

12:10 – Sam Mishra sings and plays the guitar to “Until I Found You” by Em Beihold and Stephen Sanchez.

12:12 – Mr. Snow asks slate 5 what ideas they have for the campus environment.

• They responded by uplifting the campus beautification club and making more murals and announcements

12:06 – Mr. Snow asks slate 3 how they will make improvements to the campus environment.

• They speak about improving school spirit

12:03 – Mr. Snow asks slate 2, What steps would you take to make to big events better? Who would you involve?

• They respond by talking about Connor Cheeseman personally helping people often by tutoring. Also, they will involve Latinx clubs on campus by having them sell food at dances so they can support Latinx students while serving the rest of the student body

12:01 – Mr. Snow comes onto the stage to ask the slates questions. He was greeted with ear-piercing boos.

11:55 – Each slate chooses one delegate to blindfold and guide across the stage in a balance challenge. They will have a spoon and ping-pong. If the ping-pong ball drops, they lose this competition.

• All slates guided their delegates well and no one’s ping-pong balls dropped

11:49 – Victoria Hernandez-Padilla has founded 3 clubs at SVHS, one of which she founded in 8th grade. She is also the Youth of the Year of Sonoma County and is going after school to the next step of that competition. She will not be focusing on school spirit because she believes school spirit is gained when people are proud of their school. She will meet with the Creekside admin and the wellness center to make sure creekside is being heard and that the wellness center is specializing in more than just anxiety and depression. She believes that “Sonoma can’t afford someone getting elected off of popularity right now”.

11:44 – Mia Lucchetti is slate 3’s Student Voice. She has a lot of experience being a leader, such as being in leadership classes and team captain of her soccer team for 3 years. She will use her voice to speak up for students, not just her voice. She will gain students’ voices by using drop boxes and questionnaires. She will also have office hours to provide a time when people can come speak to her. Her main idea is to “use [her] voice to communicate the stories of [the student body] and not just [hers].”

11:42 – Slate 5’s Ingrid Derby gives her speech. She shares she wishes for school to be a place of respect and a place where people can speak up for what they believe in. She will be a person who can listen to anyone who comes to them. She shares her ideas for interactive spirit days, vending machines, and more. She believes “We can work together to evolve our campus each year through our student voices.”

11:41 – Oliver Dorantes introduces what it means to be Student Voice.

11:38 – Slate 4 gives goodbye messages and thanks everyone for supporting them. They share their endorsement for slate 3.

11:37 – Slate 4 is eliminated

11:35 – Dance team performs. Those who are running for slate and who are also on the dance team performed with them.

11:35 – Voting has closed

11:27 – Elimination round one has begun. Students vote for their favorite slate and the one with the least amount is eliminated.

11:20 – While cleaning the stage, slate contestants walk around to the delegates and try to win their vote.

11:18 – Slate 1 shaved Oliver Dorantes’s hair.

11:03 – The lip-sync has begun.

• Slate 5 threw candy and flowers into the crowd during their time on the stage. Cris invited his girlfriend onto the stage.
• Slate 4, lip-syncing to Party in the USA, throws glitter into the crowd and over themselves
• In slate 3’s performance, they grabbed a multitude of props such as a money gun, inflatable stick horses, and golden hats. Remy Harrison took this as an opportunity to throw candy into the crowd, greeted with many cheers
• During slate 2’s lip-sync, they used money guns, interacted with the crowd, flowers, and planned dance routines.

10:57 – Delegate groups who were voted best dressed are called onto the stage for a catwalk.

10:55 – Deyanira Arteaga Hernandez gives numerous ideas for events on campus. Things to bring Mexican culture up and to partner with Earth club on creating a thrift store event to name a few.

10:54 – Annabel Sebastiani from slate 3 talks about her hopes to get school spirit higher. She wants to add photo booths and other things to make the campus more enjoyable for underclassmen.

10:53 – Alexandra Lucas-Lopez from slate 4 speaks on her hopes of getting more people involved in events.

10:50 – Luis Cardenas from slate 5 starts. He started talking about his experience as someone who previously wasn’t into school events but after joining varsity soccer and now, loves it.

10:50 – Explanation of Activities Director given by Lauren Johnston, the Current Activities Director.

10:45 – Break ends.

10:25 – 15 Minute Break begins.

10:23 – To fill time, Lauren Johnston, from slate 1, asks if the slates have any good jokes.

10:20 – Sam Cutting fills time by doing the audience’s suggestions for impressions.

10:18 – Everyone who has been fuzzyed walks down the runway

10:17 – Lauren Johnston of slate 1 asks those who have been fuzzyed if they have any jokes.

10:12 – Cup stacking challenge. Annabel Sebastiani won the contest of stacking the cups. Deyanira Arteaga Hernandez, Genevieve Smith, Alexandra Franco, and Roberto Aguilar took part in the competition.

10:11 – Slate 3 and 2 tied in the fuzzying of the Campaign Managers. The voters were the audience who cheered for the slate’s creativity they liked the most.

10:01 – Slates fuzzy their Campaign Manager. Slate 5 – Cris Rivara. Slate 4 – Roberto Aguilar. Slate 3 – Remy Harrison. Slate 2 – Thinley Sherpa.

• After the fuzzying, the slates show off their work by sending their Campaign Managers down the runway.

9:55 – Mr. Gibson asks, “Describe your approach to student outreach, particularly how are you going to reach out to students that typically do not participate in school events?”.

• Slate 5: Fewer google forms and more Instagram and social media use
• Slate 4: Promoting things around campus
• Slate 3: more announcements and more advertising around campus
• Slate 2: get Creeksides point of view

9:53 – Mr. Gibson asks, “Who were four teachers at SVHS when I was a student that is still here?”

-After many guesses, slate 5 wins with the answer of, Mr. Knight, Mrs. Manchester, Mr. Merino, Ms. Niehaus.

9:51 – Mr. Gibson, “Name a movie franchise that is better than Starwars.”

• Slate 2: Avengers
• Slate 3: Marvel
• Slate 4: Fast and Furious
• Slate 5: Harry Potter

9:48 – Mr. Gibson, “What does your slate see as most challenging at SVHS?”

• Slate 2: The racism and homophobia on campus
• Slate 3:  The fights on campus
• Slate 4: The lack of inclusivity
• Slate 5: How difficult it is to get mental health on campus

9:45 – In the final round of musical chairs, Andrew Bonfigli stole the chair from his competition and won the game.

9:42 – 10 delegates are called onto the stage for a round of musical chairs.

9:39 – A junior is running from the security guards.

9:36 – Push-up competition between security guards. Sam Cutting, senior, won.

Vanessa Kutza, “How will you make sure you reach as many students as possible?”

• Slate 2: Wants to be a supportive group for people to lean on. They plan to really put themselves out there so everyone feels comfortable talking to them.
• Slate 3: Will sit in on clubs around campus to see what people have to say. They will also make drop boxes around campus so people can anonymously say what they want to be changed around campus.
• Slate 4: Wants to become friends with everyone so they can have everyone’s opinion.
• Slate 5: They will also sit in on club meetings.

9:28: Sophie Rulmont asks Financial Advisors,  “How will you raise the funds for campus use?”

• Slate 5: Cites sports and athletics facility
• Slate 4: Introduces the idea of a Farmer’s Market Fundraiser
• Slate 3: Cites lowering dance tickets sales, calls for expanding sales to day-0f to increase revenue
• Slate 2: Will make money to manage.

9:26 – Peyton Rosa of Dragon’s Court asks “What do you think is the biggest issue on campus, and what will you do to fix it?

• Slate 2: Victoria Hernandez Padilla, Calls for more inclusion in education, cites extensive club involvement and diversity of their slate

9:25 – A sophomore tries to run from the security guards but is caught and brought to the fuzzying room.

9:22 – Connor Cheeseman of slate 2 won the cupcake-eating contest by shoving the whole thing in his mouth.

9:20 – Financial Advisor eating contest. They are speed-eating cupcakes.

9:18 Connor Cheeseman is introduced as Financial Advisor for slate 2. He speaks on his expertise in mathematics as he is two years ahead in math classes. He vows to raise money to spend which he believes will make a better campus experience.

9:17 – Sebastiani vows to get vending machines on campus. The hall responds positively.

9:15 – Annabel Sebastiani of Slate 3 talks about her inspiration stemming from an experience at an 8th-grade dance. She commits to finding cheaper vendors and talks of her experiences visiting Justin Siena and American Canyon.

9:13 – Slate 4’s Patricia Gomez gives her speech. She touts her financial responsibility, her previous internships, and her experience with money as a child.

9:11 – Briana Zenon of slate 5 started this off with her speech saying how she will properly care for the SVHS’s money as Financial Advisor. She, along with slate 5, wants to have everyone’s voices heard so everyone can have a say in how the money is spent.

9:10 – Derek Hernandez from the current slate 1 introduces the Financial Advisors who are running.

9:10 – The people who were fuzzyed have been brought back to their seats.

9:09 – Microphone troubles with the finish the lyric game.

9:08  – The fuzzying has begun. Four security guards took out delegates by grabbing their shoulders and feet.

9:06 – A finish the lyric challenge began. Starting with Thinley Sherpa, Genevieve Smith, Ingrid Derby, and Patricia Gomez.

9:05 – Security Guards, Runners, and Members of Dragon’s Court are introduced. The guards are met with boos and sounds of disapproval from delegates and the watching audience.

9:03 – Sam Cutting performs the national anthem.

9:02 – Slate 5 enters last, Campaign Manager Cris Rivera touts his slate.

9:00 – Slate 4 enters dressed in button-ups and cowboy hats, Campaign Manager Roberto Aguilar speaks.

8:56 – Slate 3 flows into Convention sporting colorful tutus. Remy Harrison (Campaign Manager for slate 3) gives an introduction speech for slate 3 in which she shows her admiration for slate 3.

8:54 – Slate 2 comes into Golton Hall, holding flags such as the American flag, the Nepalis flag, the Mexican flag, and the LGBTQ+ pride flag. Thinley Sherpa (Campaign Manager for slate 2) gives an introduction speech for slate 2.

8:45 – Convention begins. SLATE 1 is introduced by Senior Class President Sam Cutting.

8:00 – Leadership students are making final preparations for Convention. Many of them have been here since 5:00 AM this morning.