 REMEMBERING THOSE WHO PERISHED ON 9/11
This is a very solemn week where we all pause to remember those who perished on 9/11. Our Peninsula High ASB will be organizing our annual remembrance of this event tomorrow. As you think of all those we lost, I ask that the Peninsula High community keep the Larrabee Family in their thoughts. Their son and brother, Christopher Larrabee, a Peninsula High graduate worked for Cantor Fitzgerald at One World Trade Center. He was a wonderful young man with a bright future. Please take a moment to read this biography and this newspaper article about Christopher.
 PATRIOT DAY
15 years ago a senseless act of terrorism killed 2977 innocent victims including 343 firefighters and 72 law enforcement officers. Over 6000 people were injured. Lowering the flag to half-staff is a visual reminder of our unity. On Patriot Day we reaffirm the spirit of patriotism, service and community that we felt in those days and months that followed the attack. It's the perfect time to consider volunteering in activities that will enrich our lives and strengthen our nation.
REMEMBERING 9/11
Tomorrow, ASB will lead a thoughtful remembrance of 9/11 at Peninsula High.  The flag will be at half-staff as students arrive in the morning. Patriotic music will be played at lunchtime, and in the amphitheater there will be a poster where Pen students will have an opportunity to contribute their thoughts. The poster will be delivered to our local first responders.
Panthers, did you know that today is Grandparent's Day? If you are fortunate enough to have grandparents, give them a call and let them know how much they mean to you!
Panther Love!
 REMEMBERING OUR TITANS
This Friday will be our first "Remember the Titans" football game.
Before we were PVPHS, we were Rolling Hills High School, home of the Titans! The Zoo will be in blue and gold in honor of the Titans. "Remember the Titans" shirts will be on sale for $10 on Thursday and Friday.
All RHHS alumni are invited to the Varsity Football game at 3:00 pm vs. Torrance.
Tickets are $7. RHHS alumni will create a tunnel for our Varsity Football team to run through at the beginning of the game. If you'd like to be a part of this tunnel, please meet on the track in front of the Zoo at 2:30pm so that we can organize all of the alumni into the tunnel.
PVPHS is very proud of our roots- we cannot wait for our Titan friends to join us on Friday! Come in your RHHS Letterman Jackets, t-shirts or sweatshirts. Please spread the word!
PSAT AND PSAT 8/9
 The 2016 PSAT and PSAT 8/9 will be offered to Pen students on Wednesday morning, October 19. We will be on a special late start schedule that day. The testing will start at 7am.
The PSAT 8/9 is the first in the College Board's "SAT Suite of Assessments" and is offered to our Freshmen. The purpose of the PSAT 8/9 is to establish a starting point in terms of college and career readiness as students transition to high school.
The PSAT is designed for Sophomores and Juniors to prepare them for the SAT exam. For Juniors, this is also the qualifying exam for National Merit Scholar recognition.
Signups for the exams will start Monday in the Student Store. Students must bring their ID card and $21 cash or check payable to "PVPHS PSAT".
The exam fee will go up to $25 on September 19.
FINAL CALL FOR COLLEGE COURSE ENROLLMENT
 There are still a few spots left in Mr. Wheeler's Sociology and Dr. Coleman's Film Appreciation after school courses. These two classes are Harbor College courses offered on our campus. Students that successfully complete one of these classes can have it added to their Pen High transcript. Classes start this week - see Mr. Wheeler or Dr. Coleman if you are interested!
"CHUSEOK" - KOREAN THANKSGIVING DAY CELEBRATION AT PENINSULA HIGIH SCHOOL
 Chuseok, also known as Korean Thanksgiving, is one of the most important and festive holidays in Korea. The origin of Chuseok can be traced back to Korea's past as an agrarian society. Chuseok is also known as Hangawi, which means the 15th of August according to the lunar calendar. On this day, a full harvest moon appeared in the sky. This is a time of happiness and celebration of the abundance of harvest. The holiday also serves the purpose of keeping families together.
The Peninsula High Community will celebrate "Chuseok" this Thursday, September 15 during lunch. Students in Korean classes will perform traditional drums as well as giving mini lessons to the Panther Community. There will be a "Jegichagi" Contest, similar to western Hacky Sack. Photo booth is available for those who want to be a king or queen in traditional costumes for one day.
Korean Parents Association of Peninsula High School will extend the celebration and share the festivities with the staff and faculty. There will be a luncheon in the faculty lounge and many quintessential dishes of Chuseok will be served.
 PEN DISASTER DRILL
Peninsula's yearly full disaster drill is occurring this Tuesday, September 13 from 10:30am - 11:30am. It is important that all students, teachers, and staff participate in this exercise in order to practice procedures and techniques in case there is ever a disaster at our school or in our area.
We would appreciate it if parents would please refrain from attempting to check out their child during this important run through. Every student should know and be familiar as to what to do if a disaster or threat happens.
ROBOTICS TEAM LOOKING FOR NEW MEMBERS
 The PVPHS Robotics Team kicked off its pre-season by strategically organizing the Robotics lab. Each sub-team worked diligently to get their supplies in place and take inventory. The team is ready to face this year's challenge and is focused on making another trip to Nationals in the spring.
Students - are you creative? Do you like to design things? Do you have great organizational skills? The Robotics Team has positions available in public relations, fundraising, human resources, art and graphics design, web design / app development, videographer, video animation, and more. Bring your talent to our Nationally ranked Robotics Team. Advanced Projects credit is available. Please see Mrs. Rudder in room T102 to pick up a team form and be a part of bringing our Robotics Team to victory.
HOW TO RAISE AN ADULT PRESENTATION
On Tuesday, September 6, Peninsula High School and the Pen PTSA welcomed Julie Lythcott-Haims, acclaimed author of the New York Times best-selling book, How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success. More than 700 members of the community attended the evening and gave the speaker a standing ovation.
Julie shared research and conversations with admissions officers, educators, and employers, and her own insights as a mother and as a former Standford University dean to highlight the ways in which over-parenting harms children, their stressed-out parents, and society-at-large. While she empathized with parental hopes and, especially, fears that lead to over-helping, Lythcott-Haims offered practical alternative strategies that underline the importance of allowing children to make their own mistakes and develop the resilience, resourcefulness, and inner determination necessary for success.
This evening was made possible by the efforts of our PTSA President Jill Surace, Associate Principal Micah Farrell, PTA 33rd District Officer Nancy Shafer, and PVP Council of PTA President Beth Myerhoff.
And a very special thank you to Chef Holden Dahlerbruch and the PTSA for catering the pre-reception for our author to meet members of our community.
 DIANNA MACDONALD SPENDS THE DAY AT PEN HIGH
On Tuesday, September 6, Peninsula High was truly honored that Dianna MacDonald, the California PTA President Elect spent the day on campus. Dianna started the day by addressing parents on the importance of PTA, then visited a government class to share her role in advocating for laws that impact students. Then Dianna met with our Leadership Students and inspired them to be WHO THEY ARE, and make a difference in the world. Finally, she visited with our teachers at lunch. We were honored that Dianna found time in herr busy schedule to hang out with us at Peninsula High. We appreciate all that she is doing for the children of California.
SPOTLIGHT
COMES TO PENINSULA HIGH
Jeri Gaile, from the Music Center Spotlight Program was on campus during lunchtime, and visiting classes on Friday, September 2. The Spotlight Academy registration form is now officially open with the class schedule. Please click on
http://bit.ly/SpotAcad to be taken directly to the form to view the class offerings. Parents and teachers are welcome to come as well! Everything is located on The Music Center campus so that parents or teachers can take one class, and students can take another. More information can be found in our College Career Center.
For more information on the Spotlight program and/or The Spotlight Academy, please contact
[email protected]
MATH NEWS
The Math Department would like to thank the many families that donated to our Integral Math Boosters and to congratulate Ashley and Will Knebel (not pictured) for winning the prize! Their correct answer to the question, "How many triangles are in this picture?," allowed them to be entered into a drawing where they won the $25 Starbucks card! (PS. The answer is 48; can you find them all?)
504 STAFF CHANGES
Please note that there have been changes made to the 504 Coordinator position. The changes are as follows:
These meetings are held annually and you will be contacted to schedule your student's meeting based on the date of last year's 504 plan. Please contact the appropriate person, if needed, for any questions. Thank you.
 STUDENT LOGIN INFORMATION
In order for students to login to a district computer, Office 365, or BYOD, students need to first initialize their account. To do this, students must login to a district computer using their own student ID and their temporary password setup for them by the district. The temporary passwords are based on student birthday. If a student's birthdate is February 3rd 2001, then the temporary password would be 020301. Once the student has logged in, they will be prompted to reset their password to something they will remember. At this point the student will be able to login to a district computer, Office 365 and the BYOD network. If a student forgets his or her password they need to see Mr. Lechuga in the Computer Lab, or Mrs. Fitzgerald in the Library Lab to have their password reset.
FRESHMAN SURAJ ANAND IS SEMI-FINALIST IN STEM COMPETITION
Suraj ANAND was selected as one of only 300 semifinalists chosen from 6000 nominees nation-wide in the Broadcom Masters science and STEM competition. Suraj will now await the announcement of 30 finalists with a chance to compete in Washington D.C. and be eligible for a $25,000 Samueli Prize.
The Broadcom Masters competition is the nation's most prestigious Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) competition for middle school students.
The Broadcom Masters inspires middle school students from all walks of life to envision their future as scientists, engineers, and innovators. The competition rewards sixth, seventh, and eight grade students who follow their personal passions in science or engineering at 300 regional and state science fairs and inspires them to continue their studies in math and science throughout high school. As the students apply Project-Based learning to the scientific method and the engineering process through hands-on challenges and competitions, they learn the 21st century skills of critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity.
The title of Suraj's research was "CONSERVED REGIONS OF COAGULATION FACTORS (III), (VIII), AND (X11)'S PERCENT LOCATION AND FUNCTION IN DIVERSE SPECIES.
Great job, Suraj on your semi-finalist selection and here's hoping you are selected as a finalist on September 30.
FRESHMAN ELECTION RESULTS
Congratulations to our newly elected freshman officers,
President- Troy Simpkins and Vice President- Chase VanderPloeg.
COLLEGE NIGHT THANK YOU
Once again, Teri Lewallen planned a fabulous college night program that was well-attended. The variety of speakers and topics was exceptional. In addition, thank you to our counselors for their presentations and support of this annual event.
 PRESSFRIENDS NEW VOLUNTEER TRAINING
PressFriends is an all-volunteer, student-run organization. Since 2008. PressFriends has mentored over 3,000 under-served youth, helping them with articles for their school newspapers in after-school newspaper clubs. PressFriends also holds one or two weekend workshops with community organizations. You don't have to be a great writer to participate; you just need to like working with younger kids. Click here
for info and to sign up for the final fall PressFriends training session on September 17 from 3:30-4:30 at the Peninsula Center Library. PressFriends was
a
2015-16 President's Volunteer Service Award South Bay recipient.
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