Program High
light:
Be The Change
Be the Change leadership class at Palos Verdes High School is a function of the Associated Student Body (ASB). Student leaders in this class focus on activities aimed at enhancing the school culture and creating a positive and welcoming environment for all Sea Kings. Emphasis is on creating an open atmosphere where diversity, acceptance, communication, collaboration, and tolerance are paramount. Activities generated by the BTC class will impact our entire school campus through community service, awareness, events, and education.
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Academics
Program High
light:
National Honor Society
The National Honor Society (NHS) is the nation's premier organization established to recognize outstanding high school students. More than just an honor roll, NHS serves to recognize those students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, service, leadership, and character. These characteristics have been associated with membership in the organization since its beginning in 1921.
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Several of our Latin students attended the Southern California Regional Amici Madness, or S.C.R.A.M., is one of CAJCL's regional Fall conventions and as the name suggests, in is beautiful Southern California. At S.C.R.A.M. JCLers can expect an action packed day of Ludi games, academic testing, Certamen, Impromptu Art, informative workshops, and much more!
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FORENSICS: SPEECH & DEBATE
Our UC-approved 7th period course Forensics: Speech and Debate has started our year strong! We have already participated in two tournaments.
On October 21st, both varsity and novice teams competed in a Debate Tournament at Narbonne High School. We had excellent results!
Varsity: Nick Thompsen and Hailey Chen = 4th place
Preston Ball and Alex Chung = 6th place
Carmen Boixo-Fernandez and Shiv Patel= 2-2 for the competition
Sereene Saab and Alex Porse also competed for the varsity team
Novice: Ian Kim and Morgan Burns = 1st place (4-0)
Chloe Dowling and Matin Razepoor= 2nd place (3-1)
Karl Velazquez and Rodrigo Boixo-Fernandez = 2-2 for competition
On October 28 & 29th we competed in the Spartan Fall Classic Invitation in Montebello at Schuur High School.
Ten individuals competed in speech. Carmen Boixo-Fernandez and Tiana Vibhakar earned 3rd place for their respective events. While we had 8 debate team compete, none advanced.
Stay tuned for more updates from Forensics: Speech and Debate! We have at least 11 more tournaments this year!
Tracey Bly, faculty advisor
Coaches: Jamie Gilman (speech) and David Turpin (debate)
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Math Honor Society
Math Honor Society has been busy competing twice a week since the beginning of the year. Last week, the team had a nail-biting win in Math Madness online with two last minute points to beat Takoma Park High School from Silver Spring, MD. High scores from Brent Usui, Michael Truong, and Andy Kim helped to clinch the win. This week, our Mathletes were knocked out in a tough round against Troy High School in Troy, MI. Top scores came from Angelina Norris and Ted Zhang. The Mathletes have a lot more fun ahead as they continue competing in multiple rounds of seven other competitions throughout the year.
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PVIT CyberPatriot Team
PVIT's CyberPatriot team had a successful first competition last weekend. The teams, made up of a lot of new members, spent all day Sunday protecting their virtual machines running Windows, Ubuntu, or Windows Server. Led by seniors Griffin Leonard and Kevin Liu, the must have protected well as they had near perfect scores on all three operating systems. Congratulations!
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HOLLYWOOD AND BROADWAY PROS VISIT THE DRAMA DEPARTMENT
Glee
Choreographer Zach Woodlee visits with the cast of Little Shop of Horrors
Broadway actress and Dance Captain of Groundhog Day - Camden Gonzales - teaches a Master Class to the Musical Theater class
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CHUCK MILLER GRANT RECIPIENTS
Congratulations to the following teachers for receiving Chuck Miller Grants. We are so proud of the work that they are doing daily and how these programs will provide great benefit to their classroom instruction.
Barbara Ferraro - Let's read! Magazines in Spanish
Julie Munoz - Breakout boxes for immersive science
Jill Moeller - Breakout boxes for immersive science
Julie Maemoto - Biotechnology for all biology students (2 grants)
Megan Jarrin - Precision Chemistry Laboratories
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Athletics
Program Highlight: Surf Team
PVHS Juniors Rodney Buck (L) and Briggs Peus (R)
The PV Surf Team started the season this past week with the Kick Off Classic surfing competition. This event hosts surfers from high schools up and down the LA coast. PV finished strong with many of its varsity team members qualifying for the repechage and the finals. Our top female finisher was Gabbie Wapner finishing 4
th
in women's shortboard. Will Allen placed 2
nd
in men's longboard followed by Briggs Peus who placed
6
th
in men's longboard
5
th
in men's shortboard
. A big congratulations goes to Rodney Buck who placed first in both
men's longboard and men's shortboard starting the team's season off strong.
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Cheer and Song hosted their fifth annual Future Sea King Spirit Clinic last week for kids in grades TK-8.
They performed at the JV football game against Peninsula and look forward to coming back again for basketball season!
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Student Highlights
Palos Verdes High School is fortunate to have amazing students. Here are just a few...
Lea Rundblad
It was an amazing experience to be able to be accepted to attend the
Climate Reality
training with former Vice President
Al Gore
, Ken Berlin, and many incredible scientists.
The rapidly changing climate is a real problem and many people don't fully understand the consequences that come from burning fossil fuels, polluting, deforestation along with many other anthropogenic factors.
Just recently we have seen devastating hurricanes come one after another, hitting places like Puerto Rico, Florida, and Houston. We have even seen a destructive tropical storm hit Ireland!! That is just something that nobody would have ever thought would happen. In the past, storms like these at such high categories were considered to be events that would occur very rarely, yet we have seen multiple occur in such a short time period!
The increasing temperatures of the atmosphere have been spread to heating the oceans. This is what permitted these hurricanes to become so destructive. Usually, hurricanes are calmed down by cooler waters. Now, the waters (even at lower depths) are significantly warmer than before. These warm waters contain a lot more energy than cooler water does, acting as the fuel for the hurricane to maintain its strength for prolonged periods of time. The farther down the heat in the ocean reaches, the more energy there is to fuel storms like these.
So how do you contribute to things like reducing fossil fuels, and lowering carbon gas emission??
-Start with the small things like reduce, reuse and recycle! Try switching to using your favorite reusable water bottles and when you do use plastic water bottles, recycle them.
-Make good use of your public transportation.
-Walk or bike to your destination -- it's healthy for you and healthy for the environment!
-Find out if there are organizations like "Heal the Bay" that clean the environment in your area and take part.
-Contact your city or state officials about setting a goal to reach 100% renewable energy in your own community.
As a high school student, I would be devastated to grow up and watch the environment rapidly worsen around me knowing that humans caused the poor health of the earth -- the planet that 7 billion people call their home. To those with children and grandchildren, it should be your NUMBER ONE priority to make the world a healthy place for you and your family to live in. To learn more about this urgent issue, visit
https://www.climaterealityproject.org
If you have any questions for me about the climate reality project training or about how to get involved with helping the environment, feel free to contact me at: [email protected]
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Jessica Bahny
Jessica Bahny, a sophomore at Palos Verdes High School was recently invited to compete in the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) 2017 Laser-Run World Championships held in Cape Town, South Africa. For the Laser-Run race, athletes are required to run fast, catch their breath, and shoot a laser gun at targets. Fifteen (15) countries participated in various divisions. Jessica placed 1st (gold medal) in a divisional Mixed-Relay (female/male) with Alex Guzman, an Olympic prospect in Modern Pentathlon, and Jessica placed 9th in her Under 17 female division.
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Gavin McJones
Congratulations to Gavin for being selected as a member of the SCYYRA Advanced Racing Team. The SCYYRA Advanced Racing Team is a recognition for the top sailors in Southern California. There is a long list of College All Americans, Olympians, and Yacht Club Commodores who have honed their sailing skills in Southern California, and the tradition is alive and strong.
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PVPUSD: Parent and Student LCAP surveys
Dear Parent Community,
We are asking PVPUSD parents, and students in grades 3 -12, to participate in an annual Local Control Accountability Planning (LCAP) Survey. The purpose of this survey is to gather information from a variety of sources about the educational environment within the PVPUSD that contributes to the production of high academic achievement levels for all students. The main emphasis of this survey focuses on the conditions of learning, pupil achievement outcomes, stakeholder engagement, and pupil safety. This is an anonymous survey and the collective results will be shared during Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) meetings to guide local priority development, actions, and services. We value each respondent and it is important that we get a representative sample from our community.
We have separated and specified the surveys into categories which include: Elementary Students (grades 3-5), Secondary Students (intermediate & high school), Parent, Certificated Staff, and Classified Staff. We are asking both you, the parent, and your student(s) in grades 3-12, to click on the link provided and complete the applicable survey. Your responses will help guide the funding priorities for the PVPUSD Board of Education.
Intermedia and High School Student Survey:
Click here
Thank you for your participation in this process, your time and attention is greatly appreciated.
Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District
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PTSA
STRAW BALLOT FOR 2018-19 COUNCIL OFFICERS
The PTA Council Nominating Committee needs and wants your suggestions for next year's officers.
Please make your nominations by filling in the ballot and email it by January 7th, 2018 to
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Counseling Office News
CHALLENGE DAY
Challenge Day is a memorable experiential program that has reached more than 1.5 million youth and adults since 1987. The day-long experience strengthens emotional safety and social relationships, positively influences educational achievement, builds cross cultural connections, and reduces conflict and bullying.
This program is for Juniors and will take place on Wednesday, November 15. Applications are available in the Counseling Office, Main Office, or Room 503.
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LA HARBOR COLLEGE DUAL ENROLLMENT BUSINESS CLASS
Harbor College is offering a Business Law class at PVHS for Spring semester. The class will be held on Mondays & Wednesdays from 3:00-4:45pm. You will receive college credit on your PVHS transcript upon completion of the course. Any interested students should stop by the counseling office and pick up the online application instructions and concurrent enrollment form. If you have any questions see your counselor.
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WELLNESS CENTER
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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.
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College Career Center News
College Night at El Camino College will take place on Wednesday, November 15, from 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm. It 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! For more information and to RSVP, go to
www.elcamino.edu/collegenight
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The Student Speakers Contest, sponsored by the Lion's Club, is open to high school students, grades 9-12. The topic for this year's speech contest is "What Role Does Integrity and Civility Play in Today's Society?". Students entering the contest shall prepare a talk to be as close as possible to, but not over, ten minutes, nor less than five minutes delivery time. This contest involves a number of rounds. The student who wins the final round (state level) will have won over $20,000 in scholarship money! If interested in participating, there will be an informational meeting over lunch on Friday, November 17, from 12:15 pm-12:45 pm in the College and Career Center, Room 318.
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OUTSIDE OPPORTUNITIES
The 2018 Ignite LA Fellowships are currently open to Los Angeles County high school sophomores and juniors. This opportunity sends students on an all-expenses-paid Earthwatch expedition over the summer to conduct hands-on scientific research in the field at a variety of locations throughout the country. The fellowship looks for students with energy, creativity, and a passion to learn, and is not based on academic performance (grades, GPA, test scores, etc.). Applications are due by December 1st at
earthwatch.org/ignite.
The Diamond Challenge is a global venture concept competition open to all students around the world who have a love for entrepreneurship. It was created in 2012 by the University of Delaware. There are no stipulations to apply to the University of Delaware for those who participate. The competition offers two unique tracks-Business or Social Venture-and both are based on the emerging science of evidence-based entrepreneurship, which combines academic research as well as real-world and industry best practices. This year there is a prize pool of up to $100,000. If interested, please log onto
www.diamondchallenge.org for more information.
The Los Serenos de Point Vicente Junior Docent Program is open to Peninsula, Palos Verdes and Chadwick high school students. The program was designed to complement the existing educational and support activities provided by the members of Los Serenos including museum tours, hikes support, whale wagon duty and special event participation. Beyond the eight weeks of training classes and 36 hours of annual commitment, the program currently includes activities such as field trips to the tide pools at Abalone Cove and opportunities to hone presentation and public speaking skills. If interested in becoming a Junior Docent, please log onto the following link for more information/application:
http://www.losserenos.org/jd_info_form.html
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SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES and DEADLINES
Please find below a partial list of scholarships that are now posted on NAVIANCE. Many of the scholarships shown are for SENIORS ONLY. However, there are a several open to ALL STUDENTS, grades 9-12. To access more 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 December 15, 2017
November 27 - Elks Club MVS Foundation (up to $50,000) - seniors only; local/district/state/national competition; applicants will be judged on scholarship, leadership, community service, and financial need. Large emphasis on grades/test scores. To apply, log onto
http://www.elks.org/scholars/scholarships/mvs.cfm
December 15 - AXA Achievement Scholarship ($2,500, $10,000, $25,000) - seniors only; regional/state/national competition; recognizes those who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in their activities in school, the community or the workplace. APPLY EARLY, only the first 10,000 applications will be accepted. To apply, log onto
https://us.axa.com/axa-foundation/AXA-achievement-scholarship.html
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WASC Update
We still are in need of parent volunteers to participate. If you would like to participate on the WASC team, please contact
Danny Barbara.
(click above link for PowerPoint presentation)
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PVHS WASC Work Schedule 2017-18
November 29 - WASC Focus Group Meeting
December 6 - Faculty Meeting (WASC update, CRT, Important info)
January 3 - WASC Focus Group Meeting
SECOND SEMESTER
February 7 - WASC Focus Group Meeting
March 7 - WASC VISIT
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If you would like to participate on the WASC team, please contact
Danny Barbara
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PVHS Facilities Master Plan
A website for the PVHS Facilities Master Plan has been created to inform and update community stakeholders. We would invite you to take the time to explore the plan developed for PVHS
.
You can get started with a click on the link below.
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Holiday Family Photo Session
PVHS STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICE
Need a family photo for the holidays while giving back to the community? Why not hire a PVHS photo student!
Include the dates you have in mind and any other questions.
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Kids Corner Volunteers Needed...
Rochelle Espinoza from Kids Corner has reached out to ask if there were any HS kids who wanted to volunteer at Kids Corner after school.
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