Welcome to the fourteenth edition of
Panther Press
,
a biweekly electronic newsletter sent to families and friends of
San Joaquin Memorial High School
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Dear Parents,
San Joaquin Memorial High School is closely monitoring information regarding the global spread of the Coronavirus (COVID - 19). While there are currently no known cases of the virus in our area, we are proactively working with our local health agencies and monitoring the Center for Disease Control for regular updates related to the virus and potential exposure in the U.S. and in California.
Coronaviruses are spread from person to person in much the same way the flu and other
respiratory viruses are spread. We ask that you help us keep our community safe by continuing to maintain healthy habits as we do during any cold and flu season. Steps you can take to prevent the spread of flu and the common cold will also help prevent coronavirus:
• Wash hands often with soap and water
• If not available, use hand sanitizer
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands
• Avoid contact with people who are sick
• Stay home while you are sick
• Avoid close contact with others
• Cover your mouth/nose with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing
As a reminder students and faculty must remain home if ill and must be fever free without the help of medication for 24 hours before returning to school.
The school will work with the Fresno County Health Department as they continue to monitor and manage the current situation, and we will provide any updates as needed. As we continue to assess this evolving situation, the school is pre-planning how teaching and learning can continue, should the need arise.
Please be assured that our staff will continue to keep an eye on illness in our school, as is our standard practice. We are blessed to have current and former parents in the medical field who serve as resources for us. Our custodial staff is already using enhanced cleaning protocols to help prevent the spread of viruses.
As more information becomes available, we will share it with you. As always, the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff is our top priority.
Sincerely,
Mike Burke
Head of School
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"Helping others makes the world a better place" says Junior Sequra Pena
Every summer during June and July, SJM Junior Sequra Pena spends her weekends spreading happiness at Pacific Gardens Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. She loves making the residents smile, especially the ones that don’t have many visitors.
Sequra has been volunteering at the Center since 8th grade. “I get there at 8:00 in the morning and leave at 5:00,” she said. “I really enjoy the time I spend there and it goes by fast!”
From helping with patient activities to painting nails, Sequra loves everything about volunteering. “I help residents play games and get around the facility. I blow up balloons during exercise sessions, and pass out snacks at movie time,” said Sequra. “I spend most days going into rooms and just talking to the patients and keeping them company. But what I really love doing is walking around the facility passing out mail and visiting the patients who have birds!”
Helping others and making them smile are Sequra’s passion. “My favorite thing is when I go to the Center and everyone says ‘Hi’ to me because they remember me. I love being able to make them smile, and I also learn a lot of new things about people, their culture, and the world,” she said. “Helping others makes the world a better place; it shows that there are still some people in this world that care about others.”
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Students serve as "voice" of National Guard Youth
Memorial students Allissandra (Alli) Barragan and Desiray (Desi) Champagne-Garcia are in their second year of serving as the "voice" of National Guard Youth throughout California as representatives of the CA National Guard Teen Council. Alli and Desi are step-sisters. Their dad/step-dad is National Guard recruiter, Sgt. Nick Barragan, who presented the St. Michael Award at SJM last fall.
As members of the Teen Council, Alli and Desi provide feedback on training and support needs for the 13-18 year-old military youth population, according to Leah Price, Child & Youth Program Coordinator for the CA National Guard. “As Teen Council members, it is their responsibility to increase community outreach efforts by speaking publicly about their experience, creating materials to distribute, providing public service announcements, and planning/hosting the Teen Adventure Camp every summer,” said Price.
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Boys Golf has no weak links
For those unfamiliar with the scoring format for high school team golf, the sixth man's score only counts in the event of a tie. In SJM's Boys Golf season opener the team found themselves tied with Exeter high school. Senior Grant Vandergeest who is the team's sixth man, pulled out a come from behind victory over his opponent to give the Panthers the win! With a strong sixth man and talented roster the team's future is looking bright this season.
Vandergeest is pictured to the far right alongside his teammates.
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SJM students are inspired at Career Day
Last week, SJM hosted over thirty professionals from around the state for Career Day. Most of the guest speakers who participated are alumni. The day started with key note speaker, Ian Tong '09. Tong serves as Chief Medical Officer of Doctor On Demand and adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at Stanford University Medical School. Thank you to all who participated in this year's event, especially our beloved alumni!
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Student Athletes share Catholic Values
Last week, SJM's Softball and Baseball teams traveled to play Garces. Before the games got underway, the two teams gathered for Mass and lunch!
Baseball won 13-2 and Senior Jayden Jones was the winning pitcher with four hitless innings.
Softball lost 14-4.
We are honored to share our Catholic roots with Garces Memorial!
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Girls and Boys Basketball win Valley Championships!
Congratulations to both our Girls and Boys Basketball teams on winning Valley Championships. It is the Boys third consecutive section title (DII, DII and Open) and the Girls fourth consecutive title (D5, D4, D4 and D2).
The Girls went into playoffs as the #1 seed. They defeated #6 Mission Prep 79-53 in the DII section finals. They went into the state playoffs as the #5 seed and defeated #12 Lynbrook (San Jose) 71-37. They will travel to play Laguna Creek (Elk Grove) on Thursday, March 5 at 7:00 pm.
The Boys had a hand in Central Section history as they were seeded #3 in the section's first ever Open Division. Open Division is the top four teams in the section and every team is guaranteed a spot in the state playoffs. They defeated #1 Clovis West 51-49 in the section finals. They went into state playoffs ranked #13 and they traveled to play #4
De La Salle and lost 67-52.
Congratulations to the boys on a great season and good luck to the girls in state playoffs!
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Crab Feed Wrap Up
Thank you to SJM's Booster Athletic Club for putting on another great event! There were 300 people in attendance at this year's Crab Feed which included a silent auction. It is a valued tradition that coaches from each sports team serve guests their meal.
Thank you to all who attended and we look forward to next years Crab Feed!
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Spring Sports Update
Spring sports are well underway and SJM wishes each of its teams the best of luck this season. Here is how every team is doing this season so far.
Baseball: 7-1
Hosts Turlock on Friday, March 6 at 3:30 pm.
Softball: 0-2
Hosts Monache on Tuesday, March 10 at 4:00 pm.
Girls Lacrosse: 1-0
Play at Hoover on Thursday, March 5 at 3:00 pm.
Swim:
Compete at Hoover on Friday, March 6 at 3:30 pm.
Rugby:
Hosts Bullard on Friday, March 6 at 6:00 pm.
Boys Tennis: 1-3
Play in the California Classic on March 6 and 7.
Track:
Compete in the Simi Valley Invitational on March 13 and 14.
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No School on Monday March 9, 2020 due to a faculty inservice!
Enjoy your day off Panthers!
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Monday March 9, 2020
No School - Faculty Inservice
Tuesday March 10, 2020
Guild Meeting @ 12 pm
Wednesday March 11, 2020
Current Student
Registration Opens
Urban Plunge Parent Meeting
@ 5:30 pm
Inauguration Parent Meeting
@6:30 pm
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Monday March 16, 2020
St. Pat's Golf Tournament
Tuesday March 17, 2020
Spring Kairos begins
(Ends on March 20)
Current Student Registration Closes
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Join Us For the 75th Annual St. Patrick's Day Golf Tournament
We are close to being sold out, make sure you turn in your reservation!
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For more info please contact Shirley Boujikian at (559) 475-5831 or sboujikian@sjmhs.org
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Boosters Club
Boosters members take pride in raising money for our student-athletes through fun-filled, casual fundraisers - Holy Bowling in the fall; Crab Feed in February - concession sales and memberships.
For volunteer
opportunities and information, email sjmboostersclub@gmail.com.
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Alumni Contact Update
Panther Alums, even though your time here at Memorial has passed, this is still your home! Please stay connected with us so that you can be part of our exciting engagement opportunities such as our sporting event tailgates, alumni mixers and so much more! To stay connected
please
fill out this form
.
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