The Paly administration is taking disciplinary action against ten Paly students caught in possession of alcohol over President’s Day weekend on a field trip in Hawaii.

The Paly cheerleading and dance teams traveled to Hawaii to compete in an international competition. "Unfortunately, some students on the trip were found to be in possession of alcohol after the competition," Principal Sandra Pearson said in an e-mail to the staff.

The Paly administration would not comment on details regarding the situation, however assistant principal Katya Villalobos did say that incidents of alcohol or substance abuse during school-sponsored activities are taken very seriously not only at Paly, but also on a district level.

"The district policy for anything involving alcohol or substance abuse is an automatic five-day suspension," Villalobos said.

Students were given the option of taking three days of Adolescent Counseling Services alcohol counseling and serving only two days of suspension in place of a five-day suspension, according to Villalobos.

The policy also states that any instance of drinking or drug use on a school field trip can result in sending any involved students home early, at the students’ expense. "Due to the long weekend, all flights were full so it was impossible to send these students home," Pearson said in the e-mail. The involved students were under "room restriction" for the remainder of the trip, according to Pearson.

"Consequences from the school… include suspension from the team for the remainder of the year," Pearson said.