PRINCIPAL'S UPDATE
Congrats Pen High
A Gold Ribbon School

April 23, 2017
     
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PEN HIGH NAMED A GOLD RIBBON SCHOOL
Palos Verdes Peninsula High School has successfully completed the California Gold Ribbon Schools Program application process and is being recognized as one of the 275 California Gold Ribbon Schools for 2017. The award reflects our school's success in creating a positive learning atmosphere for all students. Such success is a direct result of our dedicated, creative, and talented staff, and our supportive school community!  Congratulations Panthers!

MESSAGE FROM THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT ABOUT PROM TRANSPORTATION
Peninsula High offers transportation to and from Prom at a very reasonable cost.  We encourage all students to consider this option.  Please read the message   HERE  from the State Superintendent about transportation safety.

FIVE PEN STUDENTS AND OUR ATHLETIC BOOSTER CLUB TO BE HONORED BY PVP COORDINATING COUNCIL
Annually, The Palos Verdes Peninsula Coordinating Council honors a limited number of outstanding students on the Peninsula who generously donate their time and talents to make our community a better place in which to live.  This year the Coordinating Council is honoring five Peninsula High students; Naomi Akiyama, Emma Sams, Emily Schluper, Jonathan Schmidt, and Kate Skaff. The Awards Program will take place on May 25th at a luncheon to be held at the Peninsula Center Library. 
 
Each year, the Coordinating Council also recognizes an organization that has made a difference in the community.  I am so exicited to share that our amazing Peninsula High Athletic Booster Club (ABC) will be recognized for their contributions to the community. Over the last 25 years, the ABC has truly made a difference by supporting our athletic programs and our athletes. Congratulations!

CAITLIN KELLY WINS "NO BULL" CHALLENGE
Caitlin Kelly has won the The Great American NO BULL Challenge with her film:
Depression by Caitlin Kelly - Best Message Documentary
On Thursday, in a surprise presentation, Caitlin received her award on campus in Dr. Coleman's Video Production class.
 
Founded in 2011, The Great American NO BULL Challenge is a social action organization that uses the power of social media and the magic of film making  to inspire students to create short films or PSA's that raise awareness and inspire positive social action on issues affecting today's youth. NO BULL provides the framework and motivation at no cost to schools and organizations to develop powerful short films and PSA's; empowering students to promote leadership, social justice, and to inspire positive change in their schools and communities.
 
Congratulations Caitlin for making a difference!  Your Panther family is so proud of your accomplishment.
CONGRATULATIONS CAITLIN!

PEN ASB RECEIVES HIGHEST HONOR
For two years in a row the National Association of Student Councils has awarded our very own PVPHS ASB with their top honor- The National Gold Council of Excellence. PVPHS's ASB is one of only five ASB's in the state of California to receive this recognition! Congratulations to this spirited group of young leaders! 

CONGRATULATIONS ASB



PEN LIBRARY RECEIVES A WELLNESS GRANT
Peninsula High librarian, Silvia Gutierrez applied for a grant from the California State Library to promote student wellness with special programs she plans on introducing through our school library.  The grant will include;
  • Student workshops on health, stress, healthy eating, and substance abuse
  • Purchasing books on the topic of wellness
  • Film-making PSA project
  • Yoga sessions during finals
Thank you and congratulations to Mrs. Gutierrez for applying for this grant with a focus on student wellness. 
 
RHO KAPPA NSSHS BANQUET
The Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society banquet took place in the PAC on Thursday, April 20th. Rho Kappa is based mainly on service and community outreach to enhance understanding and pursuit of the social sciences. Blue and white cords were given out to the 29 seniors that attended the banquet along with official certificates of completion. The 13 juniors that attended also received certificates to commemorate their hard work for the year. 

Speeches were given by current President Suha Ahsan, current Vice President Marine Fujisawa, current Adviser Don Frazier, future Adviser John Wheeler, transitional Adviser Betsy Okamoto, future President Atul Jalan, future Vice President Ishan Gaur, and future Secretary Konrad Babraj. Special shout out to board members Juliana Fager (Treasurer) and Katelynn Cha (Presentation Director) who arrived early to help set everything up and make sure the ceremony flowed smoothly. Thank you to Mr. Cohen for helping them use the PAC and with the lighting, Sobun for helping them set up, and Ashley Knebel for volunteering to take pictures!
 
PTSA MEETING THIS TUESDAY
Please Join us for our Final PTSA Panel/Parent Forum
Tuesday, April 25th 9:00 am in the PVPHS Library 
We hope you had the chance to experience New York Times best-selling author Frank Bruni of "Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be" at MIS in March.  Our next PTSA Association meeting will feature our final Panel/Parent format of the year based on this engaging book.  Please note that most Peninsula High Juniors will be reading this book in the spring as they prepare for the college application process later in the fall.  English teacher Bruce Colin will be a featured participant on the Panel, and was instrumental to introducing the book to Peninsula High.  Please join us for a lively discussion!

ATTENTION CLASS OF 2017
Wednesday, April 26th is a big day for our seniors.  They will be excused from their 3rd and 4th period classes so that they may attend a senior-only assembly that reviews the end of year events and expectations.  They will also take a Class of 2017 panoramic picture, and pick up their caps and gowns.  If your student would like to purchase the panoramic picture, you can find the order form in the senior mailer that was sent home over Spring Break, or pick up an extra order form in the Activities Office, P115.  If a senior has not purchased his or her cap and gown yet, he or she can bring $60 (cash only) to the assembly on April 26th and pickup a cap and gown at that time.
 
Seniors- tryouts to perform or speak at Graduation and Baccalaureate are April 26th  and 27th. Sign up outside of the Activities Office, P115, if you're interested. This is a wonderful opportunity to perform for your family, friends, and the Class of 2017 during this significant time in your life. Details about tryouts can be found in the senior mailer that was sent home.

SENIOR WEEK
We celebrated our graduating class this past week with a fun-filled senior week. We started with Macho Monday, then Twin Tuesday, followed by Western Wednesday, then Tiki Thursday, and it ended with Flashback/Flash Forward Friday. This very spirited class got into each day's theme and showed our school just what a special class they are.

AP EXAMS 
AP exams start May 1. All students taking an exam MUST bring their PVPHS ID card to check in (we will be scanning the bar codes on the ids). Students that have lost their id cards should see Mrs. Shiosaki in the Attendance Office this week to purchase a replacement id card for $10.

CSF
The annual CSF banquet  was held on April 1 7 th at the Marrio tt Hotel in Torrance. 206 seniors we re  hono red at the e vent. Each senior Sealbea rer was int roduced and  recei ved a certificate of  achie vement or Li fetime Membership, Highest Honors Certificate (membership in fi ve semesters of CSF starting their sophomo ryear), a membership pin, gold co rds and, in some instances, stoles to be worn at g raduat ion. Each Sealbea rer  was encou raged to apply  for one of the ma ny scholarships that we re gi ven at the banquet.  We also added a new, and  very special scholarshi p, to CSF this year. The new scholarship is in honor of our depar ting principal, Mrs. C ress. The Mitzi C ress Legacy Scholarship is p resented to the CSF member who plans on following in the  footsteps of our original CSF adviser Mrs.  Roberta  Ko rdich as well as Mrs. Mitzi C ress. The  student selected is one who plans on pursuing a deg ree in education with an emphasis on mental health/ wellness. 

Scholarship Winners were:

The Roberta Kordich Memorial Scholarship Award:  Eric Ngu y en
AVID Scholarship:  Meher Jhangiani
Mitzi Cress Legacy Scholarship:  I sabella  P alacios
CSF 100% Membership:  Lily Judge and Ca r oline Kim
Chapter Scholarship Awards:
Leyla Anvaripour
Claire Bogosian
Louis DeWitt-Hoeger
Sarah Geist
Keymia Ghodrati
Kiersten Hazard
Shannon Hearn
Claire Kim-Narita
Kastur Koul
Maxwell LaForest
Regina Lee
Nadia Maher
Gabor Nemeth
Emily Schluper
The scholarship winners we re selected  by a commi ttee of teachers and the enti re PVPHS sta ff was able to vote on the commi ttee 's recommendations.

A huge THANK YOU to the 2016-17 CSF Student Boa rd for their dedication to the o rganization.They we re inc redible this year and we couldn 't do it without their help!  You a re the B-E -S - T!
P resident................................ Keilyn  Yuzuki
Vice-P resident........................ T re vor Williams
T reasu rer................................Zhi ren  Ye (Geo rge)
Sec retary................................ Kaelyn McCloud
Members at La rge....................Lau ren A liment o, Clai rBogosian, Peter Cao, Steffanie Hassanally,  F r ancesca Ma r quez, Emily Schulpe r , Noah Speise r , &  Y odai T a k euchi

Thank you as well to the wonder ful teachers who g ave up their e vening and time w ith their families in o rder to a ttend the e vent.  We and the students you int roduced app reciate it g reatly!  Thank you to  Mrs. V a r a r at Chai y ont, M r . Henry Chou, M r . Seth Cohen, D r . Tim Coleman, Mrs. M i tzi C r ess, Mrs. B eckie Dibble, M r . Micah F ar r ell, M r . Don F r azie r , M r . Mark G r eenbe r g, Mrs. Christine Logan, M r . Chris Mullen, Mrs. La r a P a t terson, Mrs. Marie-F r ance Sam, M r . Mi k e Spalding,  M r . Michael W anme r , M r . John Wheele r , and Mrs. Emi Y amaguchi.

One last thank you...THANK YOU so much to the incoming CSF Boa rd for next yea r.They did a F ANT ASTIC job o rganizing e verything for the banquet.  Thank you!!!  A n y questions r ega r ding CS F , please contact Mrs. B etsy Okamoto at okamotob@pvpusd.net.

Congratulations to all of this yea r 's Sealbea rers:
Jacqueline Ahrens *!
Adenike Adelekan *
Lauren Alimento *!
Aaron Amirpanah *!
Hyojoo An *!
Leyla Anvaripour *!
Sarah Aoyagi *!
Andrew Arrieta *!
Hannah Asadian *!
Anna Ashai *!
Kiley Atwood
Hana Ayoub *!
Emily Bark *
Ryan Barnes *!
Sophie Bauer
Isabelle Beaudoin *!
Brittany Bemis *!
Anna Benedict *!
Cassidy Bennett *!
Karina Bjazevic *!
Joseph Black *!
Claire Bogosian *!
Alyson Bovee
Lindsey Britt
Jennifer Burr *!
Camryn Bush *!
Peter Cao *!
Joseph Caraan *!
Katelynn Cha
Cameryn Chan *
Kyle Chan *!
Matthew Chan *
Ryan Chase *!
Audrey Choi *!
Anthony Chong
Mackenzie Christie *!
Esther Chu *!
Joslyn Chu *!
Luke Classen *!
Nathanial Coleman
Alison Cool *!
Jacqueline Council *!
Kara Makishi *!
Alyssa Makishima *
Pete Makrygiannis
Elise Malone *!
Francesca Marquez *!
Hope Maruyama *!
Camille Masuda
Olivia Mathiesen *!
Micah Matsuda
Taiki Matsuda *!
Kaelyn McCloud *!
Jonathan McGinn *!
Grace Megginson
Marcello Merola *!
Jake Milch *!
Nile Minn
Scott Mitani *!
Brian Mo *!
Danielle Rae Moffat
Isabelle Moreno *!
Duke Morise *
Saranne Muirhead *!
Kurtis Munoz *!
Mariya Nadberezhna *!
David Nagoshi *
Riku Negishi *!
Gabor Nemeth
Eric Nguyen *!
Spencer Nicolls *
Sarah Noe *!
Serena Nuber *!
Madeline Oehler *!
Erin O'Hara *!
Temishi Onnekikami *!
William Paik
Isabella Palacios *!
Isaac Pang
Julia Pano *!
Edward Park *!
JaeWoo Park *!

Ryan Daues *!
Annabelle David *!
Sabrina Davoudzadeh
Luke Denney *
Kaitlyn DeRudder *!
Adam DeWitt *!
Louis DeWitt-Hoeger *!
Chris Dzikowski
Yousef El-Magharbel *!
Juliana Fager *
Jared Farley *
Marine Fujisawa *!
Tomoki Fukazawa
Alex Fukunaga *!
John Galdones *
Sarah Geist *!
Sally Gerich *!
Brooke Geske *!
Keymia Ghodrati
Shannon Gilani *
David Gonzalez *!
Sophia Goodin *
Cade Goodman
Nicole Grant *
Carolyne Guilani *
Shadi Hamdan *
Stefanie Hassanally *!
Erika Hathaway *!
Kiersten Hazard *!
Shannon Hearn *
Jenna Henry *!
Madison Hermon *!
Hutchins Hershberger
Adam Hollis
Wendy Hui
Ji Youn Hyun *!
Amanda Inouye *!
Ali-Rozack Jafri *
Darren Jeong
Meher Jhangiani *!
Krislyn Jobes *!
Lily Judge *!
Lauren Park *!
Nathaniel Pereira
Skye Perranoski
Scott Phillips *!
Isabel Pingel
Austin Pizer *!
Evan Pizer *!
Caitlin Pol
Mandolin Ponce *
Ryan Prince
Benton Prock *!
Inaya Riaz *!
Charlotte Rietdyk *!
Morgan Rivera *
Sierra Ryanisrael
Mia Salas *!
Andrea Sasselli *!
Rhian Saunders *!
Emily Schluper *!
Anders Seawright *
Sam Shafiee *!
Sher Shah *!
Noah Sheen *!
Theodore Shiao *
Orel Shilon *!
Christopher Shimada *!
Sherryn Sim *
Jennifer Simonell *
Bridgette Simpkins *!
Kate Skaff *!
Elise Sommerstein *!
Noah Speiser *!
Ryan Steybe *
Sandra Suarez
Danielle Suhr
Caroline Sumi *!
Makena Sumi *
Emily Sun *!
Elizabeth Sun *!
Nicole Suppelsa *!

Monique Jurado *!
Brian Kardos
Hannah Karpin *!
Yuzuka Karube *!
Kasey Katayama *!
Erin Kawakami *!
Caroline Kim *!
Jinseor Kim *!
Kaila Kim *!
Roanne Kim *!
Shirley Kim
Claire Kim-Narita *!
Mana Kimura *!
Jacob King *!
Kristen King *!
Noelle Kirkpatrick *!
Bryce Kitagawa
Rachel Ko *!
Patrick Kol *
Mia Koss *!
Kastur Koul *!
Mike Koyama
Maxwell LaForest *
Valeria Lazaro *
Oscar Lechuga *
Eudora Lee *
Janice Lee
John Lee
Maxine Lee
Regina Lee *!
Sabrina Lee *!
Yoonchan Lee *
Eugene Lin *
Ashley Liu *!
Lindy Liu *!
Natalie Liu *!
Sarina Liu *!
Hannah Lyons
Ivory MacCracken
Owen Magbitang *
Nadia Maher *!
Jay Majmudar
Mahiro Suzuki
Joseph Sweetnam *!
Nicole Takeda *!
Yodai Takeuchi *!
Curtis Tong *!
Victoria Torres *!
Victoria Tsai *!
Ethan Uetrecht *!
Melody Vahadi *
Trisha Valukonis *!
Julianne Vu *!
Hunter Walsh
Adeline Wang *!
Emily Wang *
Isabelle Wang *!
Luna Weintraub *
Madison Westergaard *!
Brittany Whang *!
Gene Whang *!
Miranda Willard *!
Trevor Williams *!
Alex Winslow *
Austin Wong *!
Samuel Wong *
William Woodland *!
Wanrou Wu *!
Joe Yamauchi *!
Joshua Yasuoka *!
Zhiren Ye  *!
Lauren Yen *!
Denise Yokoyama *!
Karyn Yong *!
Julianna Yonis *!
Seo Young Yoon *!
Lindsey Yoshiyama
Keilyn Yuzuki *!
Nasim Zeighami *!
Artin Ziary *!
Benjamin Zuercher *!
Courtney Zwarg


* Denotes Highest Honor Recipient
! Denotes 100% Membership (membership all four years)

Class of 2017-2018 CSF Board
President................................ Alexander Fantappie
Vice-President........................ Isabelle Mallwitiz
Treasurer................................. Kaitlyn Tang
Secretary................................. Irene Kim
Members at Large................... Lucie Abele, Anna Chang, Minami Kato, Ashley Knebel, Christina Martel, Eugene Pak, John Szieff, & Jenna Yamada

SPEECH AND DEBATE (STATE AND NATIONAL) QUALIFIERS
Peninsula's Speech and Debate Team attended the highlight league tournaments of the year: the State and National Qualifiers. And, as always, we will be sending Peninsula Teams from all sectors of Debate and Speech on to the State and National competitions.
 
State Qualifiers:   
  • Minji Oh and Hans Khoe won first place in Parliamentary Debate   
  • Janice Lee and Lindy Liu are second alternates in Parliamentary Debate   
  • Kaila Kim and Daniel Tseng are first alternates in Public Forum Debate  
  • Syung Gyung and Mei Johnson are second alternates in Public Forum Debate
  • Natasha Tieu and Moon Sung Gwak, Tori Jones and Sean Lipps, Julian Anderson and Kevin Sun, and Brian Kong and Atul Jalan qualified in Policy Debate   
  • Elise Zimmerman and Sophia Feller qualified in Duo Interpretation   
  • Shannon Hearn received first place in Original Advocacy
  • Samantha Liu received first place in Humorous Interpretation
  • Marisol Sciaroni received first place in Thematic Interpretation  
  • Cassandra Diviak received first alternate in Oratorical Interpretation  
National Qualifiers:    
  • Raam Tambe and Jerry Wang qualified in Policy Debate
  • Syung Gyung and Mei Johnson received first alternates in Public Forum Debate 
  • Sam Liu qualified in Humorous Interpretation         
SPEECH AND DEBATE QUALIFIERS

SPEECH AND DEBATE VIDEO
Enjoy this video about Raam Tambe and Jerry Wang, two of our amazing members of Peninsula High Speech and Debate.
 
VARSITY DANCE COMPETITION SEASON ENDS ON A HIGH NOTE!
Hot on the heels of their regional competitions winning streak, the Varsity Dance Team ended their year on a very high note!

On Friday March 17, at the WEST COAST ELITE NATIONALS competition in Long Beach, both Intermediate Dance and Medium Contemporary Dance placed 5th.  Junior soloist, Ronia Watl won 1st place and then 6th as a Solo Finalist.  The Small Dance team did so well that they made it into the Finals on Saturday, March 18th, where they then placed 3rd.
VARSITY DANCE
The team completed their competition dance season at the USA NATIONALS, Long Beach, where the Small Dance and Medium Hip Hop teams placed high enough to make it into the Finals on Saturday night.  Small Dance finished in 3rd place and Medium Hip hop earned 5th place in the Finals.   
VARSITY DANCE
You can see all their winning dance numbers at the Varsity Dance Showcase on Friday, May 19th at 6:00pm in the Main Gym!  

CHOREO SHOW MOMENTUM 
Congratulations to all the dancers who participated in Momentum 2017.  A big thank you to Mrs. Myrick, Mrs. Hendrick and Ms. Horn for all their hard work.
MOMENTUM 2017
 
NATIONAL LATIN EXAM RESULTS
This year's Peninsula High Latin students have definitely outdone themselves! Two days before the Ides of March, on a cold Monday the 13th of March 2017, in the midst of rehearsing for World Language Week, 100 Latin students of all levels enrolled in our program entered the gym at 8 a.m. (that's ante meridiem!) to partake in the National Latin Exam- a 40-question, multiple-choice test with a time limit of 45 minutes, with questions on grammar, comprehension, mythology, derivatives, literature, Roman life, history, geography, oral Latin, and Latin in use in the modern world. Today, at last, they have received the results: an astounding 60 of the 100 students have earned national awards! These amazing students are as follows:
Latin 1 Exam (taken by Latin 1, including *8th graders)
Gold medal, summa cum laude: *George Zhang, *Lauren Mar, Isabella Christensen
Silver medal, maxima cum laude: *Sofia Laurio, Anna Farias, Abigail Shane, *Brandon Mar
Magna cum laude: Gianna Morelli, Sara Chung, Marcella Hanna, *Hana Nakamura, Osaze Osayande
Cum laude: Mariangela Vogliotti, Niccolo Von Buren, Nicolas Candella, Brianna Cho, Sydney Crim, Siena Zamel, Yuwen (Andrew) Fan
 
Latin 2 Exam (taken by Latin 2)
Gold medal, summa cum laude: Jennifer Terada, Elizabeth Zhang
Silver medal, maxima cum laude: Michael Guan, Kristen Lu, Yeji Cho, Saffy Laurio, Sharang (Christine) Youn
Magna cum laude: Nathan Matharu, Justin Tandoc, Connor Tumelty, John Au. Cum laude: James Maeder, Luke Martin, Emma Poa, Erica Song, Jasper Lem
 
Latin 3 Exam (taken by Latin 3 Honors)
Gold medal, summa cum laude: William Mueller, Mei Johnson, Stephen Schatz
Silver medal, maxima cum laude: Shaun Kim, Lauryn Williams, Konrad Babraj
Magna cum laude: Matthew Kymn, Nicholas Shawger, Emma Needham, Rebecca Klose, Kyle Kim, Henry Norton, Eric DeWitt
 
Latin 4 Prose Exam (taken by AP Latin)
Gold medal, summa cum laude: Kaila Kim
Silver medal, maxima cum laude: Jinseor Kim, Insun (Lori) Won, Nathaniel Kim
Magna cum laude: Harmont Grenier, Mariya Nadberezhna, Hyun Woo (Kevin) Roh
Cum laude: Ojortemishi (Temishi) Onnekikami, Steven Halling, Amy Ross, Seoyoung (Angelica) Yoon
 
PRINCIPAL'S ADVISORY COUNCIL
Mr. Kuykendall will continue the Principal's Advisory Council next year.  Applications are available in the Main Office or download now:
Current Students HERE
Incoming Ninth Grade Students  HERE

MUSIC UPDATE Music Notes
  • Thursday, April 27th - 30th, Intermediate and Advance Jazz Bands will travel to Reno, Nevada to perform in the Reno Jazz Festival.
  • Saturday, May 13th, Both, Advance Jazz Band and Varsity Voices will perform at the PEF Main Event.
  • Monday, May 15th, the Music Booster Board will meet at 7:00 PM, in the Band Room.
  • Tuesday, May 16th, Music Booster Banquet, Palos Verdes Golf Club.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE - JOIN PLUS LEADERSHIP
Become a PLUS leader! Several activities the PLUS team coordinates are PLUS forums, staff appreciation, lunch/after-school activities, and parent information nights. Learn more at  pvphsplus.wordpress.com Applications are available in P123; if you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Tootell ( tootelll@pvpusd.net).

LUNCH WITH TWELVE STRANGERS
This past Friday PLUS hosted their annual 'Lunch for 12 Strangers' event. Over 100 students met in different classrooms where they played games, answered icebreakers, and ate lunch with one another. All of the teachers and students involved had fun meeting new people and getting to know each other! 
LUNCH WITH 12 STRANGERS

CAPITOL CONVOY 2017
Thanks to the Palos Verdes Peninsula Council of PTAs, on April 18-19, 2017, 70 students, teachers, administrators, and parents attended the annual Capitol Convoy trip to Sacramento to lobby state legislators on the issues that affect the District.

These lobbying points included creating a grant program for school districts to establish teacher residency programs to help recruit more teachers into the high need fields of math, science, STEM, special education, and bilingual education; providing Block Grants to all K-12 districts to develop mental health and wellness programs; allowing all school districts in California the choice of using the SAT or ACT for the 11th grade evaluation testing; directing future increases in the education  budget to raise the base grant funding level in the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which would provide technology and decrease classroom crowding.

The Peninsula representatives included the following students: Anna Ashai, Sydney Bambardekar, Yeji Cho, Cooper DeRudder, Claire Easton, Ishan Gaur, Thomas Jankowski, Mei Johnson, Kai Kato, Benjamin Kelly, Ashley Knebel, Brian Kong, Kaylen Ng, Jason Phillips, John Zuercher; Associate Principal, Lea Toombs; and parents: Rosa Easton, Allison Phillips. The students were grateful for the opportunity to have dinner with Senator Ben Allen and to learn more about his experience in politics. The students also listened to various breakout speakers on the trip, including Assembly Member Al Muratsuchi. Additionally, they were able to ask these speakers about various topics affecting California government. Overall, the trip was a great learning experience and provided an opportunity for students to speak about issues that affect the District and California.

CAPITOL CONVOY


PEN VARSITY VOICES PERFORM AT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
28th Annual High School Choir Festival Concert
On Friday, April 21 PVPHS Varsity Voices participated in the Los Angeles Master Chorale 28th Annual High School Choir Festival at Disney Concert Hall.    

This is a gathering of LA area high school choirs. This year, there were over 1000 students!  The day included a rehearsal, performances by the LA Master Chorale, organ demonstration, and a public performance by the student choir. Four of our students also particpated in the LAMC High School Festival Honor Choir. Duncan Hoard, Will Mueller, Stephen Halling and Olivia Iacono attended extra rehearsals and were then featured during the public performance.
The set included classical, art songs and folk music.  There was a special collaboration with guest artist Moira Smiley, who composed a song especially for this festival.  Another special feature was the honoring of all the music directors.  Our director, Mr. Dan Doctor, was recognized for the many contributions he makes in the lives of our students and school. 

It was a beautiful day of music. We are grateful to the students for their hard work and dedication to choir, to the parents for their support, and to our amazing director, Dan Doctor, for all he does every day to make choir such a special experience!
DISNEY CONCERT HALL

FIRST ROBOTICS CHAMPIONSHIP HOUSTON
TEAM #2637 COMPETES AT FIRST CHAMPIONSHIPS
Congratulations to Peninsula High School's First Robotics Team, the Phantom Catz, who with the help of mentors, coaches, sponsors, volunteers, and a community of supporters made it to the FIRST Championship in Houston Texas.  To get here, our team worked hard with great determination.  Along the way they experienced some failures and lots of success, but the goal was always Houston and the team never gave up on that dream.   
In Houston, Peninsula High students were now competing with teams from the United States and all-around the World who had won regional competitions, as we did in Las Vegas.  So this was the best of the best. The energy and enthusiasm of the competition was intense, but I most admired the spirit of camaraderie and professionalism.  Our Panthers truly represented the values of our school community.
PENINSULA WAS PART OF AN ALLIANCE
THAT MADE TO THE SEMI-FINALS

The team is grateful for the many parents who helped support this lofty endeavor, and especially the parents who helped chaperone in Houston.  We only had 11 days to plan the trip after winning in Las Vegas, but through the work of many, it all came together.  A big thank you to Mr. Wanmer who chaperoned the trip.

PEN VEX TEAMS COMPETE IN WORLD COMPETITION IN KENTUCKY
This past week from April 19-22, two Peninsula High school VEX Teams represented California and the United States of America at the 10th Annual VEX Worlds Robotics Competition in Louisville, Kentucky. VEX Robotics is the largest and fastest growing robotics competition for middle school and high school students globally, encompassing over 1 million students, mentors, and parents involved in this activity from over 50 countries around the world. 

The VEX World Championships 2017 is the largest robotics competition in the world, hosting hundreds of team members hoping to gain worldwide recognition for their robot creations. Teams have worked hard throughout the year to create an autonomous and remote controlled robot to launch stars and cubes onto the other side's field. 

Teams in 8 different divisions competed in 10 Qualification Matches over the course of 3 days.

Peninsula team 3050A, composed of 8 sophomore students, started off the competition strong at 2 wins and only 1 loss the first day. The next day they struggled with the stalling of their drive base, but the last day pulled through and ended the competition with an impressive 7 wins and 3 loses, ending as the seventh seed alliance. 

Peninsula 3050B, composed of 5 freshman students, performed with speed and experience against difficult competition. The team ended their Qualification Matches with an impressive record of 6 wins, 3 losses, and 1 tie, placing them in the top 20 teams of their division.

Peninsula Team 3050A advanced to the Quarterfinals, where they fought a close and exciting battle, but in the end were narrowly defeated by the 2nd seed team. 

In the end, both teams had an unforgettable experience this past week. They were honored to be competing alongside and against the best high school robotics teams in the world, becoming friends with teams from around the globe, ranging from China, Ethiopia, UK, Kazakhstan, Russia, to even New Zealand. 

Peninsula Teams 3050A and 3050B would like to give a shout out to Mr. Twiet for accompanying the teams and providing unconditional support throughout the season, as well as to all the chaperones who made the trip possible. None of this would have been possible without this support.

In all, our Peninsula Teams are fired up for what the next season of VEX Robotics will bring!

AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
The most recent edition of the Air Force Association newsletter features the Peninsula High StellarXplorer Program Check our pages 5 and 6 HERE

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
Click HERE to read some interesting predictions for the upcoming decade that were recently published in the Huffington Post.
 
CHUCK MILLER GRANTS AT WORK
Pen High science teacher Mr. Snodgrass, who received a  Chuck Miller grant from PEF earlier this year, shared the following results:
The students applied STEM to their use of a microscopes while studying human tissue slides. The Check Miller grant allowed Mr.Snodgrass to purchase 12 digital cameras which attach to microscopes on one end and then connect to the Labquest computer on the other end.  The students were allowed to clearly study the details of each tissue slide. Branching STEM labs into my biology classroom allows to better collaborate and use critical thinking. Also, students enjoyed using technology while observing tissue slides. They were genuinely interested in studying as many slides as possible. Using the STEM equipment opened up a new door into microscopy.  




 If you missed this week's Sports Update 
you can read it here



POWDER PUFF FOOTBALL
A fun part of this week's Senior Week was the annual Powder Puff football game. After a very competitive game, the Blue Tsunami Seniors came out on top, winning Powderpuff two years in a row! A big thank you to football coach Larry Campbell and Associate Principal Micah Farrell for ref'ing the game and to Athletic Trainers Scott Gaines and Christine Tang for being on hand in case of injuries and helping make sure the girls were safe. 

RPV INVITES STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN "HEALTHY PEOPLE"
The City of RPV invites student athletes, student clubs and organizations to consider participating in the "Healthy People, Healthy Pets" expo on Saturday, May 6th from 10am-2pm. Student involvement could range from demonstrating athlete workouts, talking about balancing a busy schedule of school and practice, and in general sharing information about the benefits of staying active, involved and being healthy. Could you please point me in the direction of who could assist me with this request, if not you? Many thanks, Kelly Krusee Recreation & Parks Dept City of RPV 310.541.7073

SAVE THIS DATE
Palos Verdes Peninsula High School will be partnering with Chadwick School to host a viewing of "If Only," a short film co-written and produced by James Wahlberg, at the Peninsula High Gym, on Tuesday, May 16 at 7:00 P.M. The film was created to initiate a meaningful dialogue between parents and children, and within communities, about prescription drug misuse and opiate addiction.


Contact Associate Principal Farrell  farrellm@pvpusd.net

Incoming freshman student from local private schools scheduling for 2017-2018 school year is Monday April 24-25th from 12-2:30pm in the Counseling Office.

Junior Conferences are May 15th & 16th through English classes Counselors will met with junior students to go over the college application process, develop a list of colleges, requesting Recommendation letters, deadlines and much more.

May 19th- The deadline to withdraw from a course with a "W" on the transcript.

May 23rd- Non-PVPUSD course forms are due.  If you plan on taking a non-PVPUSD course this summer you must have your counselor's approval prior to signing up for the course.

May 25th- Alumni Day- Through English classes recent graduates will talk to the current seniors about their first year in college experience and what to expect.
YOU'RE INVITED TO PEF's MAIN EVENT, MAY 13  
At the Terranea Resort

Escape to the vibrant island off of Spain for 
a whimsical evening that will ignite your senses

Guests will enjoy:

Cocktails
Spanish cuisine
Live music
Stunning student performances
Live Auction: preview at www.maineventauction.com
Silent Auction
Dancing

Make your reservation today at
Ticket price increases after April 28

SHOP PEF'S ONLINE AUCTION
CLOSES TONIGHT!!

Some items to look for:
  • Yearlong Peninsula High parking pass
  • Tickets to next year's Pev vs PV basketball game
  • Dodgers, Angels, Clippers, and more!
  • Vacations: Palm Desert, Waikiki, Beaver Creek, Los Cabos, Croatia, and more!
  • Unique experiences: Lunch for 4 with California Senator Ben Allen, Private Air Tour of LA, Oil & Vinegar private tasting party, a day of sailing, and more!
  • Summer camps, school spirit packages, SAT/ACT prep, tutoring, and college counseling too!
 
This auction closes this Sunday evening, April 23

It's not too late to donate an item to our Main Event auction! 
Please email help@pvpef.org or call  310-378-2278 
to donate an item today!


WIN A 2017 LEXUS RX HYBRID
Raffle tickets are 1/$50 and 3/$125! 

Winner drawn on May 13th at Main Event!
(Winner need not be present to win) 

Download a Lexus Hybrid Raffle Form today 
or call 310-378-2278

WIN A YEAR OF DINING AT TERRANEA
Raffle tickets are $100 each! 

Winner drawn on May 13th at Main Event!
(Winner need not be present to win) 

Download a Terranea Raffle Form today
or call 310-378-2278

 



 Follow Pen High on the following official sites

                 @CressPenhi

                 @pvphsasb

                 @pvphszoo

                 @pvphs_panthers

                 @pvphs_athletics

           
Have a great week!tracks 
 
 
Mitzi Cress
Principal