PVPHS Principal's Update - November 5, 2017

PRINCIPAL'S UPDATE

November 5, 2017

www.pvphs.com

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HALLOWEEN

Despite a little rain, Peninsula students and staff enjoyed a festive Halloween on Tuesday. ASB held a costume contest during lunch with prizes awarded for best individual costume and best group costume. Our art teacher, Ms. Nyman and her Art Honor Society students decorated her classroom with huge black-light posters resulting in a very eerie effect. Our photography teacher, Mr. Stiles, and his students set up their equipment in the Bradbury/Smith Art Gallery on campus and took pictures of everyone in costume who stopped by. Students can bring a flash drive to Mr. Stiles' room P112 this week to download their pictures.

The Rollercoaster won the prize for best group costume

Ms. Nyman's classroom

Mr. Stiles captures a group of teachers dressed as salad dressings - French, Ranch, Caesar, Thousand Island, Bleu Cheese, Rasberry Vinagarette...

DIA DE MUERTOS

Peninsula celebrated Day of the Dead on Thursday thanks to the efforts of the

Spanish National Honor Society. Día de Muertos is an important holiday in Mexico and is also celebrated in several other Hispanic countries. It is a day of both happiness and mourning as we celebrate and honor the lives of our loved ones who have passed before us. During lunch in the amphitheater there was a large poster representing an ofrenda where all were invited to write the names and/or put pictures of their deceased loved ones. Students also dressed up for Día de Muertos and participated in a costume contest. There was music and piñatas for all to enjoy. Thank you to the Spanish NHS and their teacher Sra.Valerio!

Students who entered the costume contest received pan dulce,
a traditional Mexican sweet bread.

PEP RALLY

ASB treated the Pen High students to a raucous pep rally on Wednesday which included performances by several of our Pen dance groups and a class competition. The senior captains of the fall sports teams also competed against each other to see who could stay on their feet the longest in the Wheel of Fear game (pic at left). And, since Pen High had more than 350 signups for the Skechers Walk (thank you!), Mr. Wanmer and I fulfilled our promise and competed in a slimy, feathery, gooey sliding race.

The Pep Squad and Marching Band kicked off the pep rally

Slip & Slide!

Also, at the pep rally, our head custodian Al Liwag and his crew, as well as the groundskeepers, were honored for all of their tireless service to Peninsula - setting up for events, cleaning the campus, tending to the sports fields, etc. They each received a cap created especially for them (see pic at right).

Head Custodian Al Liwag was honored for his service to the school

PEN vs PV FOOTBALL GAME

The grand finale of Spirit Week was Friday afternoon's Pen vs. PV football game. Our Panthers came out strong against PV and went into halftime tied 7-7, however, in the end PV prevailed - but just wait until next year...

Pen and PV team captains huddle with the referees prior to kickoff

Players and fans celebrate as the Panthers go up 7-0

FROM THE HEALTH OFFICE

If a student becomes ill during school they should check in with their teacher and then come to the Health Office. The Health Office clerk will then contact the parents for pickup. All other attendance matters such as being out ill all day or coming in from or going out to a doctor, dental, orthodontic, or other appointment need to be directed to the Attendance Office. You may send a note in with your student or call the attendance line at 310-377-4888 x682.

TEACHERS RECEIVE CHUCK MILLER GRANTS

Congratulations to our Chuck Miller Grant winners who will be honored

by the Peninsula Education Foundation on Thursday, November 16, and thank you to PEF for supporting our teachers.

This year's grant recipients are:

Ultimate Cell Biology Journey - Rob Snodgrass

Ultimate Chemistry Exploration - Rob Snodgrass

Inquiries in the Biological Sciences - Maureen Kealey

Civil Rights Education in Graphic Novel Form - Barbara Dewitt

The Odyssey: A Dramatic Retelling of Homer's Epic - Barbara Dewitt

WANT TO BE IN MOVIES?

Open auditions for the 8th Grade Open House video will take place in S20 at lunch this Monday and Tuesday, November 6 and 7. Come by S20 if you want the chance to be in the student produced recruitment video!

REFLECTIONS AWARDS CEREMONY

This year 53 artistic entries inspired by the theme " Within Reach" were submitted for the PTSA Reflections Art Program. A beautiful display of the student art was presented in the PVPHS Library, and on Wednesday, Nov. 1st, a luncheon was held to honor the Reflections participants and special awardees. The top entry in each of the Reflections categories will continue on in the competition at the district level. Thank you to the students, family members, teachers, staff, and administrators who supported this art program. We also owe appreciation to Selina Lai and Kako Silvestre for chairing the program at Peninsula High.

Award winners were:

Min Noh

Trisna Sakamoto

Seungmin (Kara) Lee

Kara Skye Lee

Cyrus Khaleeli

James Lim

Aimee Chao

Mary Sweetnam

Kendall Arata

Ye Won Kweon

Andrew Sinsioco

Hope Reveche

Juri Maeda

Diana Kalantar

Nathan An

Visual Arts

Literature

Film production

Dance

Photography

Visual Arts

Literature

Dance

Photography

Visual Arts

Literature

Dance

Photography

Award of Excellence

Award of Merit

Honorable Mention

JAPANESE STUDENTS MAKE SPAM MUSUBIS

On October 26, Japanese National Honor Society (JNHS) members and students taking Japanese learned how to make spam musubis. This project was organized by the Japanese Parents Network (JPN) to support JNHS's efforts to sell spam musubis at the Homecoming carnival. It was also a way for students to participate in "Onigiri Action," a web-based World Food Day campaign in which each time a person posts a photo with onigiri, a Japanese rice ball, five school meals are donated in Africa. Forty students participated in the lunch time session, and 37 more students participated during 5th period. Thank you so much to the JPN parents for your generous support!

LATIN STUDENTS ENJOY SCRAM

Fifty of our Junior Classical League delegates competed in the 2017 Southern California Regional Amici Madness (SCRAM), an annual competition held for more than fifty years, at Loyola High school last weekend. SCRAM drew thirty-four competing schools from the Southern California area, and this year included academic testing, sporting events such as dodgeball and swimming, and other cultural activities and competitions to give students the chance to display their Roman cultural passion and expertise.The event also allowed our students to mix with other classicists from all over, with fun recreational activities ranging from Project Runway to Roman Speed Dating. Congratulations to all our students for representing our school with excellent team spirit and positive attitude!

SCRAM Awards 2017:

Latin 1 - Ashley Yoon: Music, 1st; Jinhee Won: Oratory, 1st / Runway, 2nd; Lauren Havens: Runway, 2nd; Alexandra Paolucci: Runway, 2nd; Cara Tao: Daily Life, 3rd; Lauren Cho: Oratory, 3rd; Tay Wright, Prema Parks, and Lauren Cho: High School Basketball, 4th.

Latin 2 - Katelyn Becker: Mythology, 3rd; Abby Shane: Runway, 2nd; Luke Seymour, Brandon Mar, and Nick Yusin: High School Basketball, 4th.

Latin 3H - Eunice Lee: Derivatives, 1st / Runway 2nd; Erica Song: Advanced Reading Comprehension, 1st; Jennifer Terada: Derivatives 2nd / Runway, 2nd; Minji Jeun: Runway, 2nd; Emma Poa: Advanced Reading Comprehension, 2nd; Jasper Lee: Chess, 2nd; Kristen Lu: Derivatives, 3rd.

AP Latin - Will Mueller: Oratory, 1st / Advanced Grammar, 3rd / Derivatives, 3rd / Runway, 2nd; Nicole Lee: Runway, 2nd / Derivatives, 3rd

SPEECH AND DEBATE

Thirty-four Peninsula students attended the second Western Bay Forensic League tournament this past weekend at Narbonne High School. In parliamentary debate, Hans Khoe and Daniel Tseng finished in third place, Mei Johnson and Sung Gyung Lee finished in fourth place, Emily Eaton and Katherine He finished in seventh place, and Nikhil Emde and Irene Zhen finished in eighth place. In novice policy debate, the team of Anish Ramireddy and Dylan Michalik finished in first place and the team of Will Brach and Ashley Yoon finished in second place. In varsity policy debate, Atul Jalan and Brian Kong finished in first place, Ishan Gaur and Natasha Tieu finished in second place, and Julian Anderson and Kevin Sun finished in third place. The Peninsula squad also received the first place team sweepstakes trophy.

Nia, the Bark Therapy dog, continues to visit our campus regularly

VEX ROBOTICS TEAMS WIN AWARDS
Last weekend, all three Peninsula VEX Robotics teams competed in a tournament in North San Diego. Team 3050A finished first in the qualifiers and chose 5th ranked 3050B for their alliance. Unfortunately, they lost in the finals. Team 3050C was also chosen for a finals alliance, and fought hard to the end, despite technical difficulties. Team 3050A then won the coveted Design Award - a judged award for the team with the most professional design approach. Team 3050B won the Excellence Award, for top all-around team (performance and judged), which qualifies them to advance to the California State Championships. Congratulations to all three Peninsula VEX Robotics teams!

Contact Associate Principal Toombs toombsl@pvpusd.net

SENIOR ATHLETES

Planning to play NCAA Division 1 or Division 2 sports in college? If so, please register with the NCAA and send in an official transcript ordered from Mrs. Juge in the Counseling Office. To verify that your PVPHS coursework will meet NCAA requirements, you can submit a request to your counselor asking for a review

REPORT CARDS
1st Quarter grades are now available via the Aeries portal. Report cards will not be mailed home.

Contact Mrs. Arico aricoj@pvpusd.net

Visit the CCC Website

JUNIORS

Applications will be due soon for Boys State and Girls State, a government leadership program sponsored by the American Legion. Interested juniors are encouraged to attend the informational meeting this Tuesday, November 7th at lunch in the CCC. Applications will be available at the meeting. Current PVPHS students that have participated in the program will discuss their experience and answer your questions.

PRACTICE SAT & ACT EXAMS AND PARENT Q&A

The CCC will offer a Practice SAT or Practice ACT Test and Parent Q&A on Saturday, November 18th. These Practice Tests DO NOT count in any way, but do give students the opportunity to simulate the testing environment. Scores are returned the following week. Interested students can sign up beginning Monday, November 6th through Wednesday, November 15th in the CCC with $20 cash or check payable to PVPHS. Students report to the CCC at 8:30am for the exams and depart about 1pm.

All parents are welcome to attend the "open house" style Q&A from 9am - noon in the CCC. The Parent Q&A will focus on College Admissions Testing from 9am-10:15am and general information regarding the College Admissions Process from 10:15am - noon. Thank you for supporting the CCC.

EL CAMINO COLLEGE - 2017 COLLEGE NIGHT

Wednesday, November 15 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at El Camino

College Night at El Camino College is an open house event featuring a variety of workshops, resource fair, twilight campus tours, and assistance to apply to El Camino College. All prospective students, parents, adult learners, educators, and community members are invited to attend. More information is available HERE on the El Camino College website.

SENIORS INTERESTED IN SANTA MONICA CITY COLLEGE

Santa Monica City College will be in the College Career Center on Thursday, November 16 at 12:55pm. They will be available to assist students with the application process and they will be able to answer any questions you may have. Students interested in attending SMCC should plan on attending. Sign up via Naviance and don't forget to have the Teacher Permission Slip signed.

SENIORS APPLYING TO CAL STATE LONG BEACH

Elizabeth Skaff, PVPHS Alumni Class of 2017, will be in the College Career Center on Friday, November 17th at 12:55 p.m. She will be talking about attending Cal State Long Beach and two very important programs available to students: the Honors Program and the Presidential Scholarship Program. Any students who are applying to CSULB should plan on attending this very informative session. Sign up on Naviance and don't forget to have Teacher Permission Slips signed.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY

Any Pen High student interested in volunteering at Kids Korner, the after school program for PVPUSD elementary school students, should contact Rochelle Espinoza at espinoza@pvpusd.net

UPCOMING PENINSULA ATHLETIC BOOSTER CLUB EVENTS

Wednesday, November 15, 6:30pm . ABC Meeting. CCC. Please Join Us! It's a great place to find out what's happening in the world of Panther sports - plus, our fall Varsity athlete captains will tell us about their season successes.

Friday, December 8, 11am . Holiday Boutique in the Pen High gym - Save the date and plan to stop by for the best shopping in town. Several new vendors this year, along with longtime favorites, and Panther gear galore. Don't miss this fun, it's a Pen High tradition!

Saturday, March 17, 2018, A Black & Gold Affaire at the Palos Verdes Golf Club. The biggest fundraiser of the year for Peninsula athletics! Interested in helping on a committee? Contact Christina Britt at frassobrit@gmail.com

VARSITY SPORTS COMPETITIONS ON CAMPUS THIS WEEK

CIF Playoffs continue...

Girls' Tennis - CIF-SS Playoffs - Division 1

Quarter Finals on Monday at Dana Hills,

Semi Finals on Wednesday, Finals on Friday

Bracket information and game locations are

available HERE on the CIF-SS website

Remember the Titans!

Visit the Titan pages

on our school website

Attention Panthers! Head over to Chipotle this Thursday, Nov. 9th from

4-8pm and support the PLUS team! 50% of the proceeds will go to PLUS, so be sure to treat yourself to some guac!

Camp Coed is an awesome event where PVPUSD students, from 3rd to 12th grade, can come and learn different Hip-Hop styles from our very own COED Choreo members. Have you ever wanted to tear it up on the dance floor, but didn't know how? Well, we'll show you how. For the past two years, Camp Coed has been a lot of fun, and this year will be no different. So we encourage all students to come out and dance with us!