FRESHFEST 2018 - UP, UP, PEN AWAY

FreshFest 2018 started on Monday, with the Class of 2021 arriving on campus to see Peninsula decked out to resemble the movie Up! Each freshman was sorted into a team based on one of the characters from the movie. The five teams competed all week long to see who would win the Wilderness Explorer Prize! Competitions included a relay race at the Wednesday Pep Rally and Balloon Blast taking place on Thursday and Friday at lunch.

The week ended on Friday night with the gym being turned into a black-lit wonderland, complete with inflatables, games, crafts, puppies, and of course food, fun, and friends!

Link Crew worked diligently for months making sure this week would go as well as it did. The 4th period class started planning the events and creating the art over two months ago, and 7th period contributed their time and talent along the way to bring everything to life! The fabulous mural that adorned the amphitheater this week took countless hours to complete over Spring Break. Art Commissioners Pamela Gutierrez and Chloe Albino, Events Commissioners Eugene Pak and Madeline Kim, External Communications Commissioner Eve Albino, Internal Communications Commissioner Makenna Toumaian, and Finance Commissioner Kimmy Ahmady all deserve special recognition for their indefatigable commitment to Link Crew and making a grandiose vision come to impressive fruition. 

The Flock Rocks! Thanks to all freshmen who participated in big and small ways all week to make your FreshFest week one to remember!

Link Crew organized games in the amphitheater at lunch all week

PEP RALLY

On Wednesday, ASB held a Spring Pep Rally with a circus theme to recognize s enior athletes from our spring sports. All of our students enjoyed free popcorn while they watched performances from our choir and choreo groups, a freshmen  Link Crew competition, a Class Comp dance-off, and more. Our ASB students also created a lip dub video for the Pep Rally. You can watch the video online HERE on our school website.

The Boys' Choreo group wowed the crowd with their performance

A Unified Sports dance performance by students in our  Skills for Independence class and the SONG team

SCHOLAR QUIZ

The first two rounds of our annual Scholar Quiz have been completed and the field has been narrowed down from 31 teams to 8 teams. The quarter finals and semi finals will be held Monday and Tuesday, and the finals will be held during an extended lunch on Wednesday in the gym. The students amaze me with their breadth and depth of knowledge!

PEN HIGH JUNIORS RECOGNIZED BY THE 2019 NATIONAL MERIT PROGRAM

In October 2017, 1,600,000 U.S. high school students took the Preliminary SAT Test (PSAT). The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (MNSC) uses the PSAT scores to determine 50,000 high-scoring participants who qualify for program recognition. Last week, NMSC announced that 72 Peninsula High Juniors are eligible for recognition, based on their high scores. In early September 2018, many of these high scorers will be notified that they have qualified as Semifinalists.

Congratulations to the following Peninsula High Juniors:

Hyokyung An Julian Y. Anderson Faris Ashai Serin M. Bok Olivia J. Bradley Ryan G. Burgos Aimee M. Chao Vanessa I. Chuang Allen Chun Ethan J. Colin Kiran Ekanayake Sara C. Fang Michael Y. Guan Alexis J. Harris Holly L. Harris Kevin T. Hirokawa Erika S. Hsu Mei L. Johnson Brandon S. Jung Jacob S. Kang Elleen Kim Joshua D. Kim Justin Kim Ryan S. Kim

Lauren Y. Kong Liana J. Korotzer Anne Lee Eunice D. Lee Isabelle Lee Joanne J. Lee Renee G. Lee Brianna Li Kevin G. Lin Mitchell Lin Stanley Liu Chenchen L. Lu Joshua Y. Lu James Ma Nathan J. Matharu Emily A. McGinn Kyle L. Mizumoto Sina Moshfeghi Amalia S. Munn Kaylen Ng Kayla N. Nguyen Ryan R. Nishioka Saahil S. Parikh Dokyung Rhee

Juliette Roche Nicolas S. Scalfaro Lily R. Shah Lucy Shang Amanda P. Sharng Callie J. Shiang Nima Shirazian Phoenix S. Stout Kyung Min Sun Lily E. Talley Albert H. Tan Milana Tatarintseva Jennifer S. Terada Natasha T. Tieu Connor Tumelty Robert E. Wakefield-Carl Emily A. Wang Darren Wei Natalie F. Wong Michelle K. Yamakawa Renee M. Yang Tiffany M. Yen Eden M. Zafran Isabel Zhou

AP EXAMS UPDATE

Last Thursday our AP coordinators Katie Clovis and Susan Breitenstein and their outstanding team of volunteer parents helped over 1100 of our AP students prepare their answer sheets in preparation for the upcoming AP exams. It is critical that all AP students complete this pre-administration process. Students who missed last Thursday's sessions are asked to report to the CCC at the start of lunch tomorrow - Monday, April 16. (Pre-Administration is NOT required for the Chinese, Japanese and Studio Art exams).

AP students participate in pre-admin activities

WANT TO MAKE A CHANGE?

Voter Registration will be available at PVPHS this Thursday and Friday, April 19 and 20. Students will have the opportunity to register/preregister to vote during lunch in the amphitheater. Students who are 16 or 17 can preregister, and students who are 18 or older can register to vote. Please keep in mind that students MUST provide their California Driver's License Number OR the last four digits of their social security number, full name, home address, and date of birth. They should also be prepared to decide if they would like to receive voter ballots by mail and if they are interested in joining a political party.

PLUS FORUM

A PLUS forum is a 2 hour meeting where our PLUS leadership students invite other Peninsula students to engage in activities designed to break down barriers and build connectedness among students. These newfound connections between the students are then used to solve student issues on campus that affect the school climate. Students then work together with each other and PLUS members to come up with student led solutions to student issues. The PLUS team will then make sure the solutions are put into action to the best of the team's ability. The next PLUS forum will be on Tuesday, April 24. Students that would like to participate in this forum can sign up online on the PLUS website.

LUNCH WITH 12 STRANGERS

Join PLUS leadership on Friday, April 27th for Lunch with 12 Strangers! Lunch with 12 Strangers is an event that allows students and teachers to connect with their fellow Panthers through fun games and discussions with people they may not normally talk to. Sign up in your classrooms or outside of room P123.

ATTENTION CSF SEALBEARERS

Attention CSF Sealbearers: Don't forget that the banquet is tomorrow evening at 6:00 p.m. at the Torrance Marriott. Please park in the parking structure. We start right on time so please don't be late....Looking forward to celebrating you! Any questions, email Mrs. Okamoto (CSF Adviser) at [email protected].

PVPUSD SCHOOL BOARD STUDENT MEMBER

We are currently accepting applications for a student seat on the PVPUSD School Board of Education for the 2018-19 school year. Applications are available in the Activities Office (P115) or can be downloaded here or from pvphs.com under Panther Picks. Applications are due Tuesday, April 24th in the Activities Office.

CIF TEAM ACADEMIC AWARDS

The winners of the 32nd annual CIF Southern Section - Academic Awards program were announced last week. I am proud to announce that four Peninsula High teams were named Academic Champions - Girls' Soccer, Boys' Soccer, Softball, and Wrestling.These team awards, based on a cumulative grade point average of the team members, are awarded in 23 team sports. Entries from 1,684 teams were received this year. Schools are divided into two enrollment categories, 1500 and above and 1499 and below. The team with the highest GPA in each enrollment category for each sport receives the award. Peninsula High School led the way with 4 different team winners topping the academic lists. The first place teams will receive a banner to commemorate their achievement and will be honored in a pre-game ceremony before the May 1st Angels baseball game.

In addition to these team awards, CIF honors two students from each high school for their athletic / academic achievements. To qualify, the student must have maintained a 3.5 gpa over the past three years, have lettered in at least one varsity sport, and have participated in extra curricular activities. The two Pen High students who received this year's CIF scholar-athlete awards are seniors Clara Deley and Arthur Levine. Clara is on both the soccer and lacrosse teams, and Arthur is a member of the soccer and volleyball teams.

ACADEMIC DECATHLON

Peninsula Academic Decathlon earned 5th Place in Division 3 at the 2018 California Academic Decathlon State Finals in Sacramento last month. Team Captain Tyler Chang, Honors Division, earned a Gold Medal for highest scoring Team Decathlete. Team Captain Atul Jalan, Honors Division, earned a Gold Medal, with a perfect score of 1000/1000, in Speech, as well as a Gold for Interview. Team Captain Chelsea Liu, Honors Division, earned a Bronze Medal in Literature. Senior Alexa Jones, Scholastic Division, earned a Bronze Medal in Math. Sophomore Keaton Ramsey, Varsity Division, earned a Bronze Medal in Essay. Sophomore Cheetah Zhu earned a Gold Medal for Highest Scoring Division 3 Decathlete, as well as a Silver Medal in Science, and Bronze Medals in Art, Economics & Social Science. Senior Spencer Ma, Varsity Division; Junior Madison Hama, Varsity Division; and Sophomore MinJi Jeun, Scholastic Division excelled in the Speech and Interview categories. Thank you to Ms. Anne-Marie Voegtlin, our Pen High Decathlon coach and faculty adviser.

SPEECH AND DEBATE UPDATE

Three policy teams from Peninsula attended the West LA District qualifiers for the National Speech and Debate Association national tournament last weekend. Two teams from the district qualified, and both were Peninsula teams. Representing Los Angeles and Peninsula at the national tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Florida this June will be senior Atul Jalan and juniors Julian Anderson, Kevin Sun, and Natasha Tieu. Also attending the district qualifier were sophomore Sean Lipps and freshman Andrew Sinsioco. 

The National Speech and Debate Association is the oldest and largest high school speech and debate honor society in the world and its national tournament is the world's largest interscholastic competition, with over 3,000 students competing in ten speech and debate events. Peninsula will be looking to win its third national championship in a row in policy debate. At the district qualifier, Peninsula also received the district's leading chapter award based on team strength.

NEWS FOR SENIORS

SENIOR MAILING

Attention seniors and parents of seniors! The senior mailer was put in the mail this past week, so every senior family should receive it very soon. The senior mailer is a packet of information that explains all details of all senior events, including Prom, Baccalaureate, Senior Breakfast, Graduation, Grad Night, and much more. The mailer also includes envelopes to order the Class of 2018 Panoramic Photo as well as the handshake photo taken at the moment seniors receive their diplomas on stage. Parents- please review the packet of information carefully, as it will answer all of your questions regarding the end of year events. You may also reference the senior mailer online at pvphs.com under Panther Picks for the remainder of the year, or click here.

AMERICAN MATHEMATICS COMPETITIONS

Nine Peninsula students recently participated in the prestigious three-hour American Mathematics Invitational Examination (AIME). Students were invited to participate based on their American Mathematics Competitions (AMC 10 or AMC 12) scores. Congratulations to these students who placed in the top 2.5% (AMC 10) and in the top 5% (AMC 12) out of all participants worldwide: Suraj Anand, Yuwen (Andrew) Fan, Nathaniel Kim, Sina Moshfeghi, Shuya Qiao, Albert Tan, Insun (Lori) Won, Jinhee Won, and Cheng (Johnson) Zhang.

TSA UPDATE

Pen's Science TSA students competed in the state Technical Student Association engineering competition that was held in Bakersfield in late March with tremendous results! The TSA student chapter will now be advancing to compete at the National Finals in Atlanta, Georgia this summer.

Palos Verdes Peninsula High School TSA chapter would like to express our warmest heartfelt thanks to our founding co-presidents Saehui Hwang and Alisa Hathaway. They started the TSA chapter at PVPHS as sophomores and have successfully led the TSA organization for the past three years, leading PVPHS TSA members to numerous awards and recognitions nationally. Now as seniors, Alisa Hathaway and Saehui Hwang leave behind their remarkable exemplary legacy for other members to follow.

The team members express sincere gratitude to the following parents: Angela Tang, Anna Wong, Hongtao Yu, Jerry Wedekind, Swan Wedekind, Doris Kang, Kyoung Ean Rim, Jim Hathaway, Kyoungmi Kim, and David Connor.

TSA State Competition Results:

1st place categories: 6 events

2nd place categories: 4 events

3rd place categories: 8 events

Architectural design: 3rd place: Kevin Chen-Xiao, Qile Chen, Justin Murakawa

Children's Story: 3rd place: Amanda Wong, Evelyn Hasama, Summer Hasama, Rianne Aguas, Margaret Gao, Joseph Mina
Digital Video Production: 2nd place: Jocelyn Ma, Collin Miller, Sophia Jensen, Christina An 3rd place: Aina Williams Dragster Design: 2nd place: Riley Christie, Isabella Sarullo 

Engineering Design: 1st place: Sina Moshfeghi, Suraj Anand, Phoenix Stout
Essay in Technology: 1st place: Kati Wedekind 3rd place: Yeji Cho
Fashion Design and Technology: 3rd place: Arden Borders, Callie Shiang, Aishani Ramireddy
Flight Endurance: 2nd place: Hannah Kang
Music Production: 3rd place: Collin Miller, Ashley Hong, Ken Kuboshima, Robert Kim, Chris Chien
Photographic Technology: 3rd place: Connor Tumelty
Prepared Presentation: 2nd place: Yeji Cho 3rd place: Saehui Hwang
Scientific Visualization (SciVis): 1st place: Mei Johnson
Technology Bowl: 1st place: Robert Peltekov, RJ Wakefield- Carl, Phoenix Stout
Technology Problem Solving: 1st place: Robert Peltekov, RJ Wakefield- Carl
Transportation Modeling: 1st place: Riley Christie, Isabella Sarullo

Technology Student Association (TSA) is a national organization of students engaged in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) that believes in the need for a technologically literate society. Members learn through exciting competitive events, leadership opportunities and much more. TSA chapters take the study of STEM beyond the classroom and give students the chance to pursue academic challenges among friends with similar goals and interests. Together, the members work on competitive events and attend conferences on the state and national levels. Chapter organization develops leadership, as members may become officers within their state and then run nationally. In addition, all TSA activities are correlated to the Standards for Technological Literacy, as set forth by the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA). Students can work individually or as a team in such areas as biotechnology, website design, dragster design, flight challenge, film technology, CAD with 3D modeling, desktop publishing, extemporaneous speaking, debate, or fashion designing.

ABC MEETING

Please join us at our next Athletic Booster Club Meeting, Wednesday, April 18, 6:30-7:30pm in the CCC. The meeting is open to all, so we hope to see you there. How are our teams doing? Hear from our student athletes and team parent liaisons!

Thank you to our current ABC members for your continued support of PVPHS athletic programs.  Your support  does not go unnoticed.

IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO JOIN THE ATHLETIC BOOSTER CLUB

www.pvphsabc.com

VARSITY SPORTS COMPETITIONS ON CAMPUS THIS  WEEK

Baseball

Wednesday @ 3:15pm vs Morningside

Saturday @ 11am vs Loyola

Boys' Lacrosse

Monday @ 3:30pm vs Santa Monica

Saturday @ 11am vs Redondo

Girls' Lacrosse

Tuesday @ 4pm vs La Reina

Friday @ 4pm vs Mira Costa

Softball

Friday @ 3:15pm vs Inglewood

Boys' Tennis

Tuesday @ 2:30pm vs University

Wednesday @ 2:30pm vs Harvard Westlake

Boys' Volleyball

Tuesday @ 4:30pm vs Mira Costa

Thursday @ 4:30pm vs Morningside