• Houston ISD campuses are closed for summer break. The Three Penny Press resumes publishing Aug. 12.
The student news site of Bellaire High School

Three Penny Press
The student news site of Bellaire High School

Three Penny Press
The student news site of Bellaire High School

Three Penny Press
Rilina Tran

Rilina Tran, Business Manager & News Editor

Rilina Tran, business manager and news editor, is a senior and third-year staffer. She joined Three Penny Press to help become the voice for the voiceless at Bellaire. She has a talent for writing pun pick-up lines and loves interacting with the student body and taking photos. She can’t get enough of bubble tea and cute plushies. She is on the varsity tennis team and Private for Bellaire Belles Cadets. She is VP for Vietnamese Student Association and a member of NHS. Outside of school, she loves to volunteer, spend time with her family and friends (and Shadow her dog) and manage her business.

All content by Rilina Tran
Freshman Skylar Lew tried the milk bubble tea and stayed for the presentation to try the Thai tea. Lew attended past events with her brother sophomore Preston Lew.

VSA holds second Bubble Tea and Viet event

Rilina Tran, Business Manager & News Editor
Feb 15, 2024
I've been exposed to bubble tea since I was a baby, but recently I've been drinking it every day. I live about five minutes away from Sharetea and Teahouse and have gone to almost every boba shop down the Bellaire Chinatown strip.

My bubble tea addiction

Rilina Tran, Business Manager & News Editor
Jan 13, 2024
Volunteers were assigned the task of walking dogs from their cages to the play pin area. Some dogs were carried when they refused to move or got too frightened.

Helping Homeless Cats, Dogs

Rilina Tran, Business Manager & News Editor
Dec 20, 2023
Sophomore Preston Lew helps move pumpkins and hay bales to the PTO Parents' cars after the festival. Preston took photos with his friends at the photo booth area beforehand.

Clubs, teams volunteer in Condit’s Boo Bash

Keith Luo and Rilina Tran
Nov 3, 2023
Students go down the buffet-styled line and get a plate full of traditional foods. About 76 pre-sale tickets were sold and only about 12 could be sold at the door because of the limited amount of food.

VSA holds its first Fall Feast Luncheon

Keith Luo and Rilina Tran
Nov 3, 2023
President of VSA and senior Sebastian Nguyen arrives three hours early to help volunteer and set up the event. After the photo backdrop was assembled, members took a photo that represented the different zodiac animal years.

VSA plans new events for growing club

Rilina Tran, Business Manager & News Editor
Oct 27, 2023
Brothers Will (left) and AJ (right) hugging during the Cardinal kick while the school song is played by the Mighty Cardinal Band. At the end of every game, the school song is played to show school pride and members of the cheer, football and Belles dance and sing together.

The families behind Bellaire’s athletics

Jonathan Chiriboga, Clementine Behelfer, Emay Kong, Rilina Tran, and Lucas Dolibois
Oct 19, 2023
VSA members gather together in front of the traditional dragon from Tết dragon dances. The event lasted from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. with cooking classes, performances and games throughout the day.

VSA gets ‘Taste of Vietnam’ at Houston’s Viet Cultural Fest

Rilina Tran, Photography Editor
Sep 22, 2023
Pick-up lines to score a passenger princess to prom

Pick-up lines to score a passenger princess to prom

Rilina Tran, Photography Editor
May 9, 2023
The Belles spent their Friday morning learning a jazz choreography from a Showtime performer. They later joined in and performed in the auditorium during the 7 p.m. performance. (Photo provided by Rilina Tran)

Top five things for dancers to do on a cruise

Avey Gannaway and Rilina Tran
Apr 15, 2023
Juniors Ariana Izaddoost, Smruthi Garlapati and Zoe Tourloukis pose for pictures before dinner. They plan to have a fun night full of dancing and capturing memories for their Instagram.

Belles celebrate the end of the year

Avey Gannaway and Rilina Tran
Apr 8, 2023
Sophomore Sophie Hall joins the recycling group with freshman Dylan Tran and junior Caden Nguyen. All VSA members work together to collect boxes, collapse them and sort the recycle.

[NEWS BRIEF] Vietnamese Student Association partners with Sunflower Mission

Rilina Tran, Photography Editor
Mar 8, 2023
The Belles directors Cindi Denman and Leisha Kastner celebrate the hard work paid off with the dance officers and awards. Junior Alani Kao won 1st in solos and was the highest scoring dance of the competition.

The start of the Belles’ competition season

Rilina Tran, Photography Editor
Feb 23, 2023
Tran touches the different corals and sea anemones 10 feet below sea level. The helmets keep tourists' face dry and Phu Quoc's seawalker tour guides will assist throughout the 30 minute experience.

Five places to visit in Vietnam

Rilina Tran, Photography Editor
Feb 9, 2023
The club meeting took place during Vietnamese New Year (Tết). Magnet Coordinator and Campus Transfer Analyst Quan Ngo stopped by to join the celebration and hand out red lucky money envelopes (lÌ xÌ).

[NEWS BRIEF] New year, new candies, new plans

Rilina Tran, Business Manager & Photography Editor
Jan 30, 2023
A recreation of the famous American Psycho movie poster of Christian Bale (Patrick Bateman) with blood splattered on his face. The 2000 horror/thriller, directed by Mary Harron, has 90% likes and based on the 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis.

Welcome to the ‘sigma grindset’: The rise of American Psycho

Blen Abebe and Rilina Tran
Jan 28, 2023
Edaburn has her students sign in for attendance and pick up work at her desk in the front. Grace Srouji sits at a table outside the door to greet students and take attendance for her students.

Joining forces: A look into the APUSH team teaching style

Jason Deng, Grace Turney, Rilina Tran, Sara Tilney, and Raina Blesi
Dec 14, 2022
Sophomore Winston Ma prepares to hit a backhand during his singles match. Ma plays tennis for Bellaire, but attends Debakey High School.

[NEWS BRIEF] Tennis district matches: a set of challenges

Rilina Tran, Business Manager & Photography Editor
Oct 3, 2022
On the way back from a club meeting, freshmen Meadow Iam and Maisie Moncrief show off their maroon shirts. Not only did their maroon shirts show their support for Uvalde students, but it also represented a school team.

Uvalde strong: students wear maroon in solidarity with elementary school

Jason Deng, Rohan Parikh, and Rilina Tran
Sep 8, 2022
The football players stand in formation, preparing for the kickoff. The Bellaire Cardinals play the Goose Creek Memorial Patriots.

[NEWS BRIEF] Rainy Game

Rilina Tran, Photography Editor
Sep 5, 2022
Starting running back, number 16, junior Tyler Adams sits out during the 4th quarter. After carrying the ball over 20 times, Adams injured his ankle but will be ready to play next game.

[NEWS BRIEF] The season begins

Jonathan Chiriboga and Rilina Tran
Aug 30, 2022
Principal Michael McDonough speaks at the women's history month forum on March 11. A collaboration between the feminist club, student council, and period club, the forum allowed students to voice their opinions on women's issues in the school, showing how the school trusts and actually listens to its students.

[Photo] A love letter to Bellaire: how freedom spurs greatness

Nabila Wilson, Marketing Director
Jun 1, 2022
Three Penny Press advisor Lillian Harris passes out Quill and Scroll pins and certificates to the inductees. Junior Sara Wolf is among the 17 TPP members being inducted.

[Photo] [NEWS BRIEF] Journalism organizations inducted into international honor society

Karis Chen, News Editor
May 21, 2022
As guests filed into the auditorium, some of the Jazz Ensemble members played a mix up of all their pieces. Junior Josh Truong played the piano, junior Charlie Truitt played the cello, junior Owen Bell played the tenor saxophone and sophomore Koen Plank played the trombone.

[NEWS BRIEF] Mighty Cardinal Band presents their end-of-year Spring Concert

Rilina Tran, Reporter
May 17, 2022
Senior Javier Diaz plays the character Jake and argues with Junior Gwineth Cervantes who plays Jenny. The scene ends with Cervantes throwing water at Diaz as the crowd cheers. Cervantes stormed off towards the exit and said, “You’ve truly been the problem all along.”

[NEWS BRIEF] Red Bird Production presents new ‘Brown Bag’ tradition

Rilina Tran, Reporter
May 9, 2022
The 23 seniors perform their senior dance “Time of our Life.” Colonel Bella Mansfield leaps forward as Cadet Bra’una Hill, Vice President Caroline Cole, Cadet Madison Eiland, Historian Paris Joubert and varsity Marie Garcia strike a pose.

[NEWS BRIEF] Belles host final show, “Sweet Dreams”

Ian Kuzola and Rilina Tran
May 9, 2022
Freshman Daphne Kaufman played Corey, a character getting broken up with. Junior Cali Thomas played Andy, the heartbreaker of the scene and she used her leatherman jacket as the prop.

[NEWS BRIEF] Red Bird Production puts on final black box show: ‘Winter Break’

Ian Kuzola and Rilina Tran
May 1, 2022
Senior and President of Feminist Club Phoebe Hulen writes a letter as a way to destress. She also chose a matching undershirt to promote the club T-shirts that were $15.

[NEWS BRIEF] Feminist Club hosts de-stressing event to combat stressful exam season

Ian Kuzola and Rilina Tran
May 1, 2022
The yearbook staff wears matching T-shirts with their cover colors on their theme design. This year they decided to have the theme as “Re” with the colors: turquoise, imperial purple, yellow, navy blue and magenta.

[NEWS BRIEF] ‘Re’-cognizing the Carillon Yearbook

Ian Kuzola and Rilina Tran
Apr 30, 2022
Students show their support for the Day of Silence, a national student-led event that raises awareness of the discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community. Students like seniors Clarke Fisher and Katalina Vazquez not only wear face masks and stickers but also colorful bracelets.

[Photo] ‘At the end of the day, we are all people’

Heldana Yacob, Reporter
Apr 26, 2022
Senior and lieutenant colonel Natalie Faris was chosen as the Belle of the Ball. One senior is voted each year to represent Belles and be rewarded with a tiara and flowers.

[NEWS BRIEF] Belles host annual ball

Rilina Tran, Reporter
Apr 2, 2022
Junior Caden Olbekson is a student in 5th Period Junior Varsity Ensemble taught by Mr. Moore. He played both the classic guitar and electric guitar that night.

[NEWS BRIEF] Guitar department hosts Spring Concert

Rilina Tran, Reporter
Apr 22, 2022
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