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HOMECOMING
It was a memorable, jam-packed Homecoming Week for our Panther Family! Students and staff arrived on campus Monday morning to a campus transformed by ASB for their theme - Pentertainment - with quads decorated to celebrate movies, television, music, video games, and Vegas. You can see pictures of the decorations HERE on our school website.
The week was full of dances from our incredible performance groups and pep squad, included a carnival and school dance, and culminated in the crowning of our Homecoming Queen and King. To top the week off, our football team defeated Redondo 21-7 and qualified for the CIF playoffs!
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Carnival in the amphitheater Friday afternoon
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Thank you to our volunteer parents who came on campus to help at the carnival
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Coed Choreo performed during Friday Night's Homecoming Dance
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HOMECOMING COURT
After three rounds of voting over the past three weeks, our class princesses and princes were chosen as well as our Homecoming Queen and King. Congratulations to all! More pictures of the 2018 Homecoming Court can be found HERE on our school website.
Freshmen Court
Jared Hughes, Andrew Nixon, Brandon Smith, Bradley Soh, Aaron Wakefield Carl, Talani Anetema, Kristen Cho, Elizabeth Grau, Sophia Kim, Jessica Mendez, and Emma Mulligan
Freshmen Prince: Andrew Nixon
Freshmen Princess: Elizabeth Grau
Sophomore Court
Caleb Chang, Aidan Chung, Marcus Kim, Jacob Thomas, Emma Brenizer, Madeline Christen, Francesca Genato, Kelsey Lee and Tilly Safavian
Sophomore Prince: Caleb Chang
Sophomore Princess: Tilly Safavian
Junior Court
Ryan Alimento, Charley Kim, Josh Ling, Ikenna Ogele, Nicholas Sims, Sydney Choi, Mikaela Garcia, Lani Hollingsworth, Mara Mahoney, and Sabrina Tang
Junior Prince: Ikenna Ogele
Junior Princess: Mara Mahoney
Senior Court
Koichi Brennan, Alec Britt, Wyatt Chang, Nicholas Goldenberg, Max Hampel, Arrow Hubbard, Josh Lu, Steven Muirhead, Olin Osborne, Robert Peltekov, Noah Shafer,
Amira Belhedi, Loren Kim, Victoria Mansukhani, Amalia Munn, Kaylen Ng, Rachel Rhodes, Lauren Rosa, Molly Scott, Natalie Wong, Minami Yamaura, and Allyson Yi
Senior Prince: Robert Peltekov
Senior Princess: Amira Belhedi
Homecoming King: Wyatt Chang
Homecoming Queen: Natalie Wong
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| Freshman Princess and Prince |
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Sophomore
Princess and Prince
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Junior Prince and Princess
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The Senior Class Prince and Homecoming King were crowned at the dance
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#OnigiriAction
Panthers participated in a #OnigiriAction rice ball making session this past week organized by the Japanese National Honor Society. The session was lead by the Japanese Parent Network volunteers who showed students how to make spam musubi and other rice balls (onigiri), aka Japanese staple finger food. Students also took photos and posted them on social media with #OnigiriAction. Onigiri Action is a worldwide campaign by a Non-Profit Organization, Table For Two, to combat hunger. Each social media post with the #OnigiriAction provides 5 to 10 school meals to children in need. Everyone had a great time learning Japanese culture and being a part of this great cause.
The Table for Two Club is planning another #OnigirAction event this Tuesday, October 23,at 2:45pm in P124 that all students can particpate in. Students will be making rice balls for school meals for hungry children. Registration is necessary for preparation purposes. Please click HERE if you would like to participate.
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Japanese Parent Network volunteers demonstrated the proper technique
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AVID PANCAKE BREAKFAST 
The AVID students and teachers served up a very delicious breakfast yesterday on campus. This was the first annual AVID Pancake Breakfast and the turnout was excellent. Our AVID teachers Mr. Engle, Dr. Coleman, Mr. Spalding, and Mr. Doctor cooked bacon and sausage and flipped pancakes all morning. Thank you to our AVID families who donated all of the food, drinks and paper goods. If you missed the fun this year, plan on joining us next year!
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Pen High's AVID teachers serving up breakfast
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MODEL UNITED NATIONS UPDATE
 On Saturday, October 2018, Peninsula High School's Model United Nations attended Cerritos High School's annual fall conference. It was their second conference of the year, but it was obvious that our delegates were up to the task. It was also the first ever conference for some of our novice delegates, but again, you could have never guessed as they looked confident in committee and performed exquisitely. They competed against high schools from all over California, and earned 22 individual awards. The conference was headed by student advisors Matthew Dollinger, Mumba Mulenga, Sydney Bombadecker, and Christina An.
Our delegates debated topics from illicit trade of small arms and light weapons to the rights of refugees. They represented the countries of Lebanon and Canada. All delegates were able to approach their topic without any personal bias, and successfully debated each topic on behalf of their respective countries.
All of our Peninsula delegates performed exceptionally well at Cerritos. These students received Awards of Excellence:
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Mackenna Murphy
Madison Murphy
Mishal Syed
Allison Khan
Fiona Yang
Parker Winig
Anish Ramireddy
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Shivani Jain
Ryan Cardinali
David Kwon
Yuri Takabo
Reece Takemoto
Amy Huang
Seforah Teferi
JJ Abele
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Analisa Sack
Rianne Aguas
Julianna Panetta
Shannon Gibson
Joshua Bae
Judy Dominguez
Katie Sabunas
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SPEECH AND DEBATE
Last weekend, four Peninsula students were among over 500 students from throughout the United States who attended the Heart of Texas debate tournament at St. Marks School of Texas in Dallas. All four brought home awards. Seniors Natasha Tieu and Kevin Sun reached the quarterfinal round (top 8) of policy debate and the senior-junior team of Julian Anderson and Kristen Lu finished in the top 32. Kevin was sixteenth speaker and Natasha was twentieth speaker. As a result of their finish, Natasha and Kevin received a bid to the Tournament of Champions (TOC) in April at the University of Kentucky.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Peninsula debate team attended the CSU Fullerton High School Invitational. In varsity parliamentary debate, Mei Johnson and Michael Wagreich reached the semifinal round (top 4). Mei was fifth speaker. In novice parliamentary debate, David Rekart and Julia Thomas finished in first place. Linus Yeh and Saul Munn and Komal Kaur and Simren Parikh reached the semifinal round (top 4). Julia was top speaker. Komal was third speaker, Saul fourth speaker, David fifth speaker, and Simren sixth speaker. In varsity policy debate, Dylan Michalak and Melissa Qin finished in second place and Melissa was tenth speaker. In novice policy debate, Kan Shimada was fifth speaker and Blake Dee was ninth speaker.
PTSA REFLECTIONS RECEPTION
 PTSA has received 76 entries for this year's Reflections contest. The entries will be on display all this week in the Bradbury-Smith Art Gallery on campus. There will be an artists' reception this Thursday evening, October 25 at 6pm. We hope that you all will have time to stop by and see the amazing artwork created by our talented students.
PTSA MEETING TUESDAY
 Please join us for our PTSA Association meeting this Tuesday, October 23rd in the PVPHS Community Room. We will hear from our new superintendent, Dr. Cherniss, about his goals and objectives for our District and his plans for the school year. We will also have a presentation by the on campus CASSY student support specialists who will talk about the services they provide to our students and answer parent questions. You will also hear about the exciting plans for our Reflections program this year, as we mark the 50th Anniversary of this important PTA program. For more information, please see the
PTSA MEETING AGENDA. The meeting begins at 9:00 am, with social time (and coffee) before the meeting. Hope to see you all there!
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SKECHERS WALK
 The Annual Skechers Walk is this Sunday, October 28th. The registration fee is $30/walker (It is the number of walkers that counts, not the amount donated, so feel free to change the suggested amount of $50 to $30).
Then click on "Join Team" in the upper right corner and fill out the form as a new or a returning participant. Make sure that you identify Palos Verdes Peninsula Education Foundation as the one organization you support.
SKECHERS WALK RECAP
1) The Annual Skechers Walk is Sunday, October 28th at 9am.
2)
Registration fee is $30/walker (It is the number of walkers that counts, not the amount donated, so feel free to change the suggested amount of $50 to $30)
3)
What goes to PEF? Skechers gives back the entire $30 registration fee PLUS a calculated amount of the sponsorship money. Last year, 4,300 PVPUSD walkers generated $240,000 for PVPUSD! WOW!
4)
Yes, you can register your entire family AND your dog. Any "thing" (person, animal) can register.
No need for additional email addresses if you are registering in the same family.
5) You don't have to show up for the Walk (although we'd love to have you!) -- you can sign up to walk or walk virtually - and stay in your pajamas and think about all the good you've done!
6)
Your donation is tax deductible
INCENTIVES
Principal Kuykendall and ASB have decided to tie Skechers Walk Signups to Class Comp points! We'll make the Skechers Walk worth 20 points for the class that has the most signups, 16 points for the 2nd place class, 8 points for the 3rd place class, and the 4th place class will receive 4 points.
Current Class Comp standings are:
Seniors - 18 points
Juniors - 18 points
Sophomores - 4 points
Freshmen - 4 points
So winning the Skechers Class Comp will go a long way towards being crowned Class Comp Champs in the spring!
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STEM CAMP
 The Pen High Robotics Team is holding their second annual Peninsula STEM Camp this month. Over the five sessions, students from Pen's Team Phantom Catz spend time teaching 5th graders from Silver Spur, Soleado, and Point Vicente about the principles of engineering. Last week's class was about aerodynamics and featured building rubber band powered helicopters and paper airplanes. The students had a lot of fun through a series of friendly competitions to see whose airplane could fly the furthest. Their planes utilized paper clips, masking tape, and other materials to create designs that were colorful, creative, and innovative. Our student mentors guided the 5th grade students through how to make the projects and taught them about engineering. The 5th graders and Phantom Catz had a really fun time and the experience gained was unforgettable!
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FRESHMAN PARENT POWERPOINT
Freshman parents: Last week the counseling department hosted an orientation for the parents of freshmen students. This presentation covered an overview of our department, how students can contact their counselors, attendance policies, discipline policies, and much more. For those of you that were not able to attend you may view the PowerPoint through this link:
Freshman Parent Presentation
COLLEGE APPS
The Cal State University application window opened October 1st. APPLY EARLY!!! The deadline is November 30th. In addition, the UC application window is open, however you cannot submit your application until November 1st. The deadline is November 30th as well.
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COLLEGE IN JAPAN
Tomorrow, Monday, October 22 from 1:00pm
to 2:45pm the following universities will be in the College Career Center to present to students interested in attending school in Japan: International Christian University, Keio University and Sophia University. Both parents and students are invited to attend this event. Parents must sign-in at the Main Office before coming to the CCC.
HOBY PROGRAM FOR SOPHOMORES
Applications for the Hugh O'Brian Youth (HOBY) Leadership program are due on October 25th. To learn more about HOBY, visit
HOBY.org
COLLEGE REP VISITS
Colleges visit the CCC every day during the fall to share information with students. Check on Naviance for the most up to date list of schools scheduled and to register. Students must have a
teacher permission slip to attend. This week's visits include: University of San Francisco, Washington State, Colby College, University of Hawaii at Manoa, and University of Denver just to name a few. These visits are for students only.
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The following is another in a series of weekly columns from guest writer, Dr. Moe Gelbart, Executive Director of the Thelma McMillen Center.
MYTHS RELATED TO TEEN DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE
At a recent parent support group that I run, the topic of children lying about
 vaping and drug use came up. At the first experience, parents were greatly saddened, concerned that they could no longer trust their children, and feeling a certain sense of innocence slip by. It was an experience that, not surprisingly, was commonly shared by most. The group came to understand not to take such truth challenged communications personally. When it comes to behaviors teens know they should not engage in, ie, alcohol use, drug use, vaping, excessive gaming, etc, they will not tell the truth. It is important for parents to understand, accept, and expect this, and to remain vigilant to warning signs. Being told what we want to believe feeds our denial needs, and temporarily calms our anxiety, but it is not good in the long run.
For starters, for example, you find marijuana or vaping device in their drawers, or back pack. What is the first thing your child will say to you? "it's not mine!". This is a reflexive response, rooted in their DNA, that all kids say. Mark this down: IT IS ALWAYS THEIRS. They are never carrying someone else's drugs or paraphernalia. When you walk into their room, and catch them smoking marijuana, or vaping, what is the first thing they will say to you? FIRST TIME! It's the first time I ever used, and you caught me. Of course, when you catch them again, sometime later, you will probably hear: "Oh no! The second time I ever used, and you caught me again". Of course, almost all the time, this is not true.
What are some of the myths they would like us to believe? Among the most common are:
1. It's only beer. The reality is that a 12 ounce can of beer, a 6 ounce glass of wine, and a 1 ounce shot of liquor, all have the same amount of alcohol/ethanol content, so that drinking six beers is the alcohol equivalent of 6 shots of vodka.
2. Everyone drinks and uses. It may feel that way, but the reality is that not all teenagers drink alcohol or use drugs. In fact, the data in the South Bay shows that 4% of 7th graders, 25% of 9th graders, and 42% of 11th graders reported using alcohol or drugs in the past 30 days. (interestingly, for 9th and 11th graders, our data is higher than the state averages). In regards to marijuana use, the data shows that 13% of 9th graders and 27% of 11th graders in the South Bay reported using marijuana in the past 30 days. To a child who is experimenting, it may feel like everyone is because they often spend their time with others who are similarly experimenting, but the truth is that not everyone uses.
3. It's only marijuana. Teens who experiment with marijuana become "experts" in what they perceive as the harmlessness of the substance. They study the internet, and find articles to confirm their biases. I constantly hear things like, "it's a natural herb and harmless"; "everyone used it in the 60's and nothing happened"; "it's not addicting"; "it's legal, so it can't be bad for you". These are myths. The reality is that marijuana is very dangerous, very harmful, and especially so on the young, developing teenage brain. It interferes with concentration, memory, drive, and motivation. The potency of marijuana today, that is the THC levels, is significantly higher than it was years ago, and therefore more damaging. There are methods which make the potency even greater. (I will go more in depth in a future column on marijuana and the problems related). In our treatment program, for both adults and teens, we see that marijuana is both addicting, and leads to other drug use as well. The notion that it is a harmless, natural substance is a myth.
Knowing the myths surrounding teen age substance use is a major tool in increasing awareness, and being prepared for early intervention when needed.
Remember, if you have issues you would like to see addressed, please email me at
[email protected]
. Your inquiries will always remain anonymous.
Moe Gelbart, PhD
Psychologist
Executive Director, Thelma McMillen Center
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SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
The 28th Annual A Black & Gold Affaire is on Saturday, March 16, 2019. This is the PVPHS Athletic Booster Club's Major Fundraiser benefiting all Palos Verdes Peninsula High School Athletics. Visit
www.pvphsabc.com to BECOME A SPONSOR TODAY! Contact Thea Sanderson at
[email protected] or Michelle Seaton at
[email protected] with any questions.
SAVE THE DATES
- PVPHS Athletic Booster Club (ABC) meeting - Wednesday, November 14 @ 6:30 pm, Room TBD. This meeting is open to all Panther parents.
- Holiday Boutique Saturday, December 8, Kelly Johnson Fieldhouse. Holiday shopping at its best!
ABC Membership online registration is quick
and easy.
and clicking on the
Join Now Online! link
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VARSITY SPORTS
COMPETITIONS ON CAMPUS THIS
WEEK
Girls' Tennis
Monday @ 2:30pm vs PV
Boys' Water Polo
Tuesday @ 3pm vs PV
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Monday, Tuesday,
and Thursday
(Regular)
Period 0: 7a-7:55a
Period 1: 8a-8:53a
Period 2: 8:59a-9:52a
Panther Time: 9:52a-10:10a
Period 3: 10:15a-11:14a
Period 4: 11:20a-12:13p
Lunch: 12:13p-12:48p
Period 5: 12:54p-1:47p
Period 6: 1:52p-2:45p
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Wednesday
(Late Start)
Period 0: 9a-9:40a
Period 1: 9:45a-10:25a
Period 2: 10:30a-11:10a
Period 3: 11:15a-11:45a
Period 4: noon - 12:40p
Lunch: 12:40p-1:15p
Period 5: 1:20p-2:00p
Period 6: 2:05p-2:45p
(Double Assembly + Early out for Pen/PV Football game)
Period 0: 7a-7:54a
Period 1: 8a-8:40a
Period 2A: 8:46a-9:41a
Period 2B: 9:47a - 10:42a
Period 3: 10:48a-11:28a
Period 4: 11:34a-12:14p
Lunch: 12:14p - 12:49p
Period 5: 12:55p - 1:35p
Period 6: 1:41p-2:21p
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Support the Spanish Honor Society this Tuesday!
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