Sea Kings Community,
I wanted to share with you an email I sent to faculty and staff after our WASC visit.  It's an inside look into our world and I thought it would be timely with the conclusion of our WASC visit. Please view the presentation that the Committee left for us. It is very positive and highlights many of our excellent programs. 

I wanted to thank our Boosters, PTSA, PEF, PVEPD, Board and community members who met with the Committee a week ago to provide them feedback.  I thank you for your support for the Home of the Sea Kings!

Sincerely,
Dr. Charles Park


Sea Kings Faculty and Staff, 

I wanted to express my gratitude to our faculty, staff and students.  I have linked the Committee's final report which they presented on Thursday and it was a very positive and engaging presentation; it celebrated our school.  We should all be proud. Please take a look at the presentation and especially the strengths listed.  The Committee was impressed with our candor and honesty. They were amazed with our many programs, our faculty's knowledge base and our whole staff's "can do" attitude.  

I wanted to thank some people:

Shawn and Manny for making the campus look so impressive. They got our lockers and walls painted with their persistence. 

Ruben and Gerardo for installing the entry gardens and sprucing up our whole campus.

Classified Staff for being the foundation of making our school run so effectively daily.

Jeanne for taking care of the main operations from the main office. 

Patty for getting the Committee their reimbursements before they left (that never happens anywhere else in any visit).

Tecia for leading us to an amazing Scholar Quiz assembly. The Committee couldn't believe the behavior and content of the assembly.

Lorraine for kicking off Sunday with PVIT impressiveness with all teams here on Sunday working on their projects.

Susan and Triton Yearbook for showing the Committee their impressive Sunday work session during a deadline weekend.

Security Team for working hard to protect our school and students.

Heather for providing the Committee snacks daily.

Cathy for making the gift baskets which the Committee took to wearing Sea Kings gear at their presentation.

Community Members for their supportive comments during the Sunday meeting.

Don Austin and our district leaders for their support throughout the process.

Board members for meeting with the Committee on Sunday and supporting us during the final meeting yesterday.

Chief Velez for speaking to the Committee about our school's partnership with PVEPD.

Boosters, PEF and PTSA for their strong support as always.

Jama and Karen for having ASB and BTC welcome our guests and having those awesome posters around campus.

Rene and WASC Leads for all the time and effort you put in. We all are grateful for your leadership.

Danny and Keely for always getting things done to get things moving.

All of our students who embraced this process and were so positive throughout. We are here because of them.

We now have much work to do and together we can improve our school by following the action plan and as Committee member Monty Owens said, "If we move one more notch up as a school, we will become other worldly."  

Thank you and Go Sea Kings!

Sincerely,
Charles Park, Ed.D.
Principal
Palos Verdes High School
(310) 378-8471 x 200

WASC

The WASC Visiting Committee had the opportunity to see all that makes PVHS such a great school. The Western Assoc. of Schools and Colleges visited our school to assess our accreditation status and confirm that our diploma meets all necessary standards. ASB, BTC and PAC were all integral in the process. WASC Committee commented multiple times that the students were kind, "happy to be at school", intelligent and well-spoken. 


  
 




Community Update Regarding Bus Transportation Challenges


Dear Sea King Families,

I am writing to update you on a recent development with one of our busing and transportation providers for off campus school activities that has impacted our school and many others throughout the District.  One of our transportation companies recently notified us that they have canceled busing reservations for upcoming field trips, competitions and sporting events at many schools. This company is opting to discontinue transportation services for schools and focus on other types of clients.

Even though we use multiple companies that must meet safety and compliance guidelines to transport our students, the timing of this short notice has created transportation problems for many upcoming activities throughout the District.

Please know that Principals, Office Managers, District Administration and support staff have been working diligently on securing alternative transportation companies for our upcoming events.  We first received notification about this situation on Friday, March 9th and are continuing to problem solve throughout the weekend.

Our number one priority is the safety of students. Our entire school community works hard to provide educational experiences for our students.  We recognize the time, financial resources and volunteer hours that our parents contribute to these experiences for students and are working hard to ensure they can continue as planned.

I will keep you updated on the status of upcoming events that require student transportation and may be affected by this recent development.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

Sincerely,

Charles Park, Ed.D.
Principal
Palos Verdes High School
(310)378-8471 x 200

Academics

SCHOLAR QUIZ

Congratulations to team Mongolia for winning this year's scholar quiz championship in front of a crowd of 1,800! Thank you to all students and especially Ms. Barton who organized the amazing event. Let's also thank our Booster Club for providing those very precise buzzers for the contestants instead of those paddles we normally use.



 

PVIT 

PVIT VEX Team Qualifies for World Championships

 

On Saturday, the new PVIT VEX team qualified for the VEX World Championships, held in late April in Louisville, KY.  This young, first year team had a tough early season, but refused to give up and continued to improve their robot design and fine-tune 15-20 hours each week. Upon  making the semi-finals at the State Championships, the team won a spot to go to Worlds. California is one of the most competitive states for VEX, and we are really proud of these boys for their teamwork.  Congratulations to (L to R)  Noah Lin, Dominic Yore, Aaron Guo, Tyler Ewald, Rodrigo Boixo, and Cole Welcher with special thanks to engineering mentor Dr. Jud Welcher.


PVIT Video Game Programming Team Competes at CodeWars



The PVIT video game programming team went to Roseville,CA last weekend to compete in CodeWars, a programming competition sponsored by Hewlett Packard. The team had a great time with the difficult and varied challenges. Pictured (L to R):  Koby Tesfay, mentor Bill Robert, Aiden Fitzpatrick, Mrs. Jarrin, Ryan Bloodgood, Sean Keenan, Jerry Klerman, Tommy Applewhite, Alex Robert, Atlee Pollock, Dylan Shiao, and mentor Paul Shiao.


MATH HONOR SOCIETY / MATH CLUB

Congratulations to Brent Usui (12th), Youngeun Eric Kim (11th), and Curtis Liu (9th) who scored top scores on the AMC 10/12 exam and qualified for the American Invitational Mathematics Exam (AIME), an even more challenging math competition. Qualifying for the AIME represents the top 2.5% of students in the US for AMC 10 and the top 5% nationally for the AMC 12. Other top finishers include Zhiyuan Ted Zh ang, Jack Yang and Aaron Guo.  Congratulations to all of these mathletes.


M3Challenge 


(pictured L to R) Zhiyuan Ted Zhang, Brent Usui, Youngeun Eric Kim, Mikayla Dixon, and Angelina Norris locked themselves in room 326 for fourteen hours last Sunday to compete in the M3Challenge, an applied math contest. The competition aims to provide mathematical modeling exposure to top junior and senior math students who might consider pursuing this field.  Although the contest was difficult and long, the students must enjoy it as Brent and Angelina endured the 14-hour marathon last year and returned for more math modeling fun!

Athletics
 


GIRLS LACROSSE
Girls won the 16th Annual Rose Bowl Jamboree LAX Tourney on Saturday beating Glendale in the Championship.  Currently 4-0.



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BOYS LACROSSE
Boys took Tuesday's game at Redondo 12-4. 
Oaks Christian walks away with the win Wednesday 5-3.  
The boys played a well fought tough game and came up just short.   

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SOFTBALL
Sea Kings win home opener vs Banning 8-6 in 9 innings. Walk off 2 run home run for Rachel Allen.



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Congratulations to senior,  Andrew Burda , who has been invited to join the  USA Beach Handball Men's Team  in preparation and competition for the  2018 Pan American Beach Handball Championships  hosted in Oceanside, CA (see press release below).  Andrew has trained and developed with the USA Junior National Team and now has become a vital part of the USA Senior Men's Team.  

Activities
 
COMEDY SPORTZ

Thanks to Ms. Brockman, Mrs. Warren, Mr. O'Brien, Ms. Kohn, Ms. Ruiz, Mrs. Lewis, Mr. McKinney, and Mrs. Jarrin for their courageous and hilarious display of talent in Friday night's Teacher v Student Comedy Sportz match! 





STUDENT CHIEF COUNCIL

Congratulations to those selected to be part of the first Student Chief Council. Chief Velez will meet with students regularly to work with them on leadership projects and engage them with the Police Department. This is truly a partnership between school and police and students are getting an opportunity to learn civic service. 


Student Highlights
 
Palos Verdes High School is fortunate to have amazing students.  Join us in congratulating...

The Winners in Freedom4U Youth Photography Contest:
McKinley Pieper
Domenico Ottolia
Sophie Walter
Emily Imbach

The Exhibit is Open to the Public at Paul's Photo in Torrance for the month of March.



Booster Club
 
 
CATCH THE WAVE 2018 "By the Sea"

Thank you Booster Club on putting together a classy evening at the Portofino. Thank you to President Michael Thomas for his leadership. Thank you to Amber McAuley, Lisa Balcom, Anitra Bornheimer & the planning committee for all of their work and time for such a successful evening. Thanks to our Booster Club we are able to pay for trainers, PVIT competitions, chromebook carts, dance floors, Wellness Center, Scholar Quiz and much more... We cannot thank them enough for their strong support. Thank you!



Thank You to our Sponsors
 
For sponsorship opportunities, please go to http://pvboosterclub.com/product/sponsor-catch-the-wave/
Or Contact Quinn Mulkey at quinnmulkey@fastmail.com
 
Sea King for Life - $10,000
The Oarsman Foundation
 
Gold Sea King - $2500
The King Family   
Michelle and Bob Fullerton
Greg, Mary and Collin Stewart
 
Silver Sea King  - $1500
The Jellison Family
Colleen and Craig Quinn
 
Bronze Sea King - $500
The Forsey Family
Andrea and Rich Galvin
Diane and Scott Imbach
The Johnsen Family
Lisa and Kevin Templeton
Libby and Mike Thomas
Walkthrough Productions
PVHS Girls Volleyball Team
 
Family Sea King - $250
Cynthia and John Bartlett
Cindy and Paul Campbell
Michele and Robert Feller
The Graziano Family
The Hoffman Family
Tracy and Scott Holt  
Heidi and Manoj Kashyap  2013 Alumni Parents
Doug Laurin and Elisa Anhalt
HyunWoo Kim and WeonHwa Lee
Yvonne and William Liu
Georgene and George Mitsanas
The Padian Family
Adriana and Luigi Schiappa
Alex and Mike Smith
Karen and Brett Zane
Anonymous Sponsor
 
Proud Sea King - $100
Vickie and Rick Brown
Joanne and Stanley Chang
Jill and Jeff Dixon
The Drawer Family
The Firmani Family
The Hoover Family
The Jeau Family
Conner Kashyap 2013 Alumni
Miles Kashyap 2013 Alumni
The Lane Family
The Malekzadeh Family
Matthew and John Mac Menamie 
Dr. Minette Ramos and Family
Dr. Charles Park 
 

Peninsula Education Foundation
 
 



Counseling Office News


FAMILY RESOURCES FOR WELLNESS & SOCIAL EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

PVPUSD is pleased to be a South Bay Families Connected Partner School.  Please visit our unique youth wellness web page,  PVPUSD Families ConnectedVisit this month's featured SBFC resource page, Building an Inclusive Community for All of Our Youth, where you will find helpful resources, articles, and videos.

Please check out the following links on SBFC: 
              



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WELLNESS CENTER DONATIONS

During lunch students have the ability to drop into the Wellness Center to take a break, rest and be restored. We are currently looking for donations to provide students with some snacks and beverages to add to their experience. The following items would be greatly appreciated!

Fruit, water, Keurig tea pods, essential oils, adult coloring books, sketch pads, puzzles and any other items that might add to the student wellness experience.

College Career Center News




 
PVHS College Essentials Toolkit:  February - March 2018
Students & parents, grades 9 - 11, are encouraged to attend these presentations focused on building a solid approach to the college research and application process.  You'll hear directly from College Admission Counselors, as well as other experts in their respective fields, and learn important tips and practical advice with the goal of lessening stress for our students and families as they begin to contemplate COLLEGE.  Detailed information on dates/topics can be found on our website at 
https://pvhs.pvpusd.net/apps/news/article/807686   Whether you're a freshman, sophomore or junior, it's time to think about college! Please join us for these informative presentations:  
  • March 13th - California Public Colleges: UCLA, Cal State Dominguez Hills and El Camino Community College 
  • March 22nd - What KINDS OF COLLEGES are there and what's my best fit?
SENIORS, the Cal Grant GPA  data was successfully uploaded by PVPUSD.  If you opted out of this process, your information was not uploaded.  In order to be considered for the Cal Grant Awards, seniors must also submit the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).  If you have NOT filed the FAFSA, please do so before the deadline posted by the college/university to which you applied.  To access the FAFSA website, click on the following link:   https://fafsa.ed.gov/ 

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OUTSIDE OPPORTUNITIES:
 
Questbridge College Prep Scholars Program:   This program prepares high-achieving, low-income 11th graders to be admitted to the nation's best colleges, and possibly attend for free. College Prep Scholars could receive special awards, such as full scholarships to college summer programs, exclusive access to 40 top colleges at a National College Admissions Conference, all-expense-paid campus visits, and more.  This program is for high school juniors who have shown outstanding academic ability (top 5%-10% of your graduating class) despite financial challenges.  College Prep Scholars typically come from households earning less than $65,000 annually for a family of four with minimal assets.  Applicants must be planning to apply to college during the fall of their senior year.  For more information on this program, please log onto  https://www.questbridge.org/high-school-students/college-prep-scholars  The application is now open, and the deadline for students to apply is March 21, 2018.
 
2018 LA BioMed Summer Fellowship Program:   This program provides Los Angeles County graduating high school seniors and high school juniors the opportunity to work in a biomedical research environment.  Selected students will spend eight weeks assisting their assigned mentors, who are accomplished medical scientists involved in cutting edge biomedical research. The summer fellows are exposed to ongoing research projects and participate in a well-defined protocol that can be completed during the summer program. Fellowships begin on Monday, June 18th, 2018 and continue through Friday, August 10th, 2018.  Further details about this opportunity can be found online at  https://labiomed.org/summer-fellowship  To apply, go to  https://labiomed.org/summer-fellowship-application   Applications are due no later than March 21, 2018
 
The USC Center for Applied Molecular Medicine (CAMM) and the Westside Cancer Center (WCC) of USC   have developed a unique program to foster scientific achievement for rising high school seniors interested in clinical or research oncology. They believe that passion, coupled with outstanding aptitude, are the hallmarks for success. This program fosters scientific education by incorporating hands-on experimentation in a collaborative environment.  The application consists of an essay and a copy of the student's transcript. The essay should be used as a forum to convey the student's passion for science/medicine. They will be accepting applications from January 29th through April 5th, 2018. The program begins on June 13th and requires the students to commit 6 hours a day until June 29th at the Health Science Campus of USC. Please contact Dr. Kian Kani ( kani@usc.edu ) for more information.  ONLINE APPLICATIONS CAN BE COMPLETED HERE : www.BeARebel.org/junior-fellows-application  
 
Camp Counselors needed for TANOSHII Fun Camp  sponsored by the South Bay JACL. The mission of this camp is to "Promote the Legacy of the Japanese American Culture and Heritage to our Youth". The camp will take place from July 9 to July 13, 2018 at the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute (JCI).  Camp Counselors must attend the entire camp week from 9:00am to 3:30pm.  They can be any college student or high school student entering his or her junior or senior year in the fall of 2018 and should have knowledge/experience with Japanese American culture and heritage. Applications for Camp Counselors are available now on the GVJCI website at:  www.jci-gardena.org/tanonshii-fun-camp  .   If you have any questions, please contact the TANOSHII Camp Director, Ray Shibata by email at  www.tanoshiifuncamp.org

Camp Cardiac and Camp Neuro  applications have just opened up for 2018!  Run by medical students in over 30 cities nationwide with locations in Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego, Camp Cardiac & Camp Neuro are 1-week summer day camps for high school students interested in exploring careers in medicine.  Students may learn more and apply by visiting  http://www.campcardiac.org   and  http://www.campneuro.org
 
U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps  is a military youth program for young men and women:  Navy Sea Cadet Corp (Ages 14-17) and the Navy League Cadet Corp (Ages 11-13).   It is sponsored by the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Marine Corps.  Students will have the opportunity to participate in Aviation, Field and Medical Training, Leadership Development, Military Police Science, Scuba Diving, Sailing and Photo-Journalism.  Cadets train aboard U.S. Navy and Coast Guard Vessels and can meet Sea Cadets from around the world in their International Exchange Program.  Information on the program can be accessed at  www.bevhillsnavyleague.org  then click on the Sea Cadet tab.  For more details, please contact LTJG Doug Irvine, USNSCC at (310) 977-5183 or doug@iwssurveying.com

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SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES and DEADLINES:
 
We are at the peak of scholarship season...especially for community-based opportunities!  NOW IS THE TIME TO APPLY.   A complete list of scholarships is listed on Naviance.  To access information on these scholarships, please log onto NAVIANCE.  Click on the COLLEGES tab and then scroll down to SCHOLARSHIPS and MONEY.  Click on SCHOLARSHIP LIST.  At this point, select the scholarship of interest.  In many cases, you will be directed to a website for the application.  In other instances, you may be able to download the application directly from NAVIANCE.
 
Scholarship Deadlines through March 22, 2018:
   
  • MARCH 13 - JACK BAGDASAR ($500) - awarded to a senior who demonstrates the ability and desire to be an elementary school teacher.  Applications may be downloaded from Naviance. 
 
  • MARCH 15 - CABRILLO CIVIC CLUBS OF CA ($500) -seniors only; must be of Portuguese descent; minimum weighted GPA of 3.5; participated in three extracurricular activities.  To apply log onto http://www.cabrillocivicclubs.org/scholarship.asp .  Applications may also be downloaded from Naviance.
 
  • MARCH 15 - ELK'S STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES SCHOLARSHIP ($1,000-$3,000) - to be eligible to apply, individuals must be a U.S. citizen; be a resident of CA or HI; have a physical impairment, neurological impairment, visual impairment, hearing impairment, and/or speech/language disorder; and be a senior in high school. Funds are to be used for undergraduate work.  Selection criteria is based on the following: severity of disability, financial need, GPA, seriousness of purpose and depth of character. To apply, log onto https://chea-elks.org/youth-activities/scholarships .  Applications may also be downloaded from Naviance.
 
  • MARCH 15 - ITALIAN CATHOLIC FEDERATION ($2,500) - seniors only; must be of Italian ancestry and also Roman Catholic; minimum unweighted GPA of 3.2; participation in extracurricular activities; financial need.  To apply log onto www.icf.org .  Applications may also be downloaded from Naviance. 
 
  • MARCH 15 - PVP ROTARY CLUB SCHOLARSHIP ($3,000 - $5,000) - seniors only; scholarship, leadership, service, and financial aid are deciding factors; will award several scholarships at $3,000 and one $5,000 scholarship to a student interested in a STEM career.  Applications may be downloaded from NAVIANCE. 
 
 
  • MARCH 16 - SEAN HEFFERNAN MEMORIAL ($1,000) - graduating senior who shows academic achievement, community service; must include original artwork (includes photography, poem, writing, sculpture, etc.) and an essay on caring.  Applications may be downloaded from Naviance.
 
  • MARCH 19 - DELTA SIGMA THETA SORORITY, INC. ROLLING HILLS/PV CHAPTER SCHOLARSHIP (varies) - seniors only; must be of African-American ancestry; made positive contribution to school/community.  Applications may be downloaded from Naviance. 
 
  • MARCH 20 - KIWANIS CLUB ($500; $1,000) - seniors only; given to students to have shown special heart, academic merit and service.  To apply log onto Applications may also be downloaded from Naviance. To apply log onto http://kiwanisclubrhe.org/scholarships/ .  Applications may also be downloaded from Naviance. 
 
  • MARCH 22 - PVP COUNCIL OF PTSAs ($1,000) - seniors only; MUST be a PTSA member at least 30 days prior to the deadline and complete an essay of 350 words max to describe "In what way has the PTA influenced your life?"  Applications may be downloaded from Naviance.