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HALLOWEEN
Students and staff enthusiastically celebrated Halloween this past Wednesday. Ms. Nyman and her art students turned their classroom into a blacklight lit fright room, ASB held a costume contest at lunch with prizes for best individual costume and best group costume, and Mr. Stiles and his photography students set up their equipment in the Bradbury/Smith Art Gallery on campus and took pictures of everyone in costume who stopped by. Students can bring a flash drive to Mr. Stiles' room P112 this week to download their pictures.
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Art students work on a mural for their blacklight display
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Contestants in the individual costume category
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Administrators and staff members show they really care
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Even our campus comfort dog Nia got dressed up
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DAY OF THE DEAD
The Spanish National Honor Society hosted Day of the Dead during lunch on Friday. Día de Muertos is an important holiday in Mexico and is also celebrated in several other Hispanic countries. It is a day of both happiness and mourning as we celebrate and honor the lives of our loved ones who have passed before us. There was a Catrina costume contest and then the entire student body was treated to some pan dulce and piñata fun. Thank you to the Spanish Honor Society volunteers and the Spanish classes who helped prepare, set up, and take down the decorations, and to Sra. Valerio, their teacher and adviser. A special thanks goes out to Dr. Kuykendall, Ms. Toombs, Mr. Engle, Mrs. Madunich, Miss Kawagoe, Mr. Thompson, Mrs. Donahoe, Mrs. Iwami, Mr. Greenberg, and parent volunteers Mr. and Mrs. Bogosian and Madhurika Jain for their assistance, as well.
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Winners of the costume contest
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Students wait for the piñata to get broken open
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PEN CAFE
I hope that you were able to enjoy the beautiful voices of our choir students participating in the Thursday and Friday evening Pen Cafe performances in the PAC this past week. The two hour show included both solos and ensembles singing sixteen pieces from musicals such as Mama Mia, Pocahontas, Fiddler on the Roof, and Shrek. Thank you to our choir teacher Dan Doctor and the Choir Booster Board for organizing this event.
TEACHERS RECEIVE CHUCK MILLER GRANTS
 Congratulations to our Chuck Miller Grant winners who will be honored by the Peninsula Education Foundation on Thursday, November 15, and thank you to PEF for supporting our teachers. This year's Pen High teacher recipients and their projects are:
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isa Dohren - To Kill a Mockingbird Graphic Novel
Anne Leonard - Culinary Arts Upgrade
Robert Snodgrass - Meaningful Chemistry AP Labs Help Promote High AP Scores
Hassan Tweit - STEM Engineering
Jamie Nyman - Interactive Interdisciplinary Painting Experience and Art Exhibition
Brendan Karg - Edit Stock for Video and Design
Maureen Kealey - Innovations in Genetics
Chas Lee - Exploring the World of Atom
Paula Borstel - NGSSifying Chemistry
RED RIBBON WEEK
 We will be observing Red Ribbon Week this week. Our PLUS leadership students have organized some fun activities throughout the week for all students. Remember "THIS IS NOT A PRACTICE LIFE." Stay safe, healthy, smart, and kind!
Come to the amphitheater during lunch to...
- MONDAY: Play a trivia game and win candy
- TUESDAY: To try on the drunk goggles and see how being under the influence can impair you
- WEDNESDAY: Pledge to healthy alternatives to vaping
- THURSDAY: Get candy for wearing red to support being drug free
- FRIDAY: Pledge healthy alternatives to drug use and receive otterpops!
CANNED FOOD DRIVE STARTS THIS WEEK 
It's that time of the year again! This Thursday,November 8th through next Thursday, November 15th, Service Learning Leadership will be hosting our annual Canned Food Drive. Please bring in canned foods to your third period to make a difference in someone's life. All of the cans will be donated to the LA Food Bank. Let's donate even more cans this year than last year! Remember, the third period with the most cans donated will win a trophy! Please see any Service Learning Leadership member if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your support!
WALK FOR LIFE OPPORTUNITY
 Students interested in helping to organize our annual Walk For Life cancer walk fundraiser for City of Hope and The Cancer Support Community should come to our first WFL Ambassador meeting in P115 at lunch this Wednesday, November 7th to hear the details of the WFL Ambassador's role.
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EDUCATION THROUGH FOOD
On Tuesday, October 23rd, the Table For Two Club hosted their first after-school session of the "Washokuiku (education through food)" program. Representatives from the club's parent organization Table For Two came from Washington DC, and volunteers from their corporate sponsor Mitsubishi UFG (Union Bank) assisted and participated in the session with our students. Participating students first learned about the background of rice balls and about Onigiri Action, a worldwide campaign to combat hunger in the world. Then, students learned how to make cute riceballs from a professional chef and made their own original riceballs. The experience was engaging and meaningful for all participants. Our next session will be in February. Contact the Table For Two Club at pvphstft@gmail.com for more information.
CAMP COED CHOREO
 Camp Coed is an annual event to which PVPUSD students from 3rd through 12th grade can come and learn different Hip-Hop styles from Pen High COED Choreo members.Camp Coed is this Saturday, November 10th, from 9am to 1pm in the Main Gym. The registration fee is only $15, but for an extra $10, you can also get an authentic Camp COED T-shirt. SIGNUP ONLINE HERE.
PRESSFRIENDS/DISNEY FAMILY VOLUNTEERING DAY - NOV. 17 
Here is a fun way to earn service hours with your family while making a difference. No experience or training necessary. At Family Volunteering Day, we'll be assembling holiday goody bags to give to each of the 180 under-served 4th and 5th grade students in our Fall semester newspaper clubs at their December publication parties.
PressFriends is an all-volunteer. peer-mentoring literacy program. Disney is offering nonprofits 20 Disneyland Tickets if there are 75 or more volunteers at the nonprofit's Family Volunteering Day, and PressFriends would use those 20 tickets to reward the best articles written in our after-school newspaper programs. Our work day will be Saturday, November 17 from 10am to noon on campus. Click
HERE to sign up to help.
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MATH TEAM SUCCESS
On Wednesday, October 24, 2018, thirty-four Peninsula Math Team members traveled to West Torrance High School and competed with students from eleven Los Angeles County high schools at the first Bay Math League competition of the year. Each participant competed in three of five individual rounds (coordinate geometry, quadratic equations, graphing rational functions, continuity, techniques in counting) and one team round. The Peninsula Math Team had a remarkable performance placing second overall.
Congratulations to the following students who earned PERFECT scores!
Seniors: Allen Chun, James Ma
Juniors: Suraj Anand, Derrick Kim, Joshua Masuda
Sophomores: Aksh Garg
Freshmen: Akash Anand, Taejun Lee, Aidan Pulmano, Kai Shimada
ROBOTICS TEAM
 The Pen High robotics team - The Phantom Catz - have been very busy. They were recently visited by Kinecta Federal Credit Union representatives and received a $5,000 check for the robotics program. During the check presentation visit, the Robotics leadership students discussed our SMERT program and what FIRST robotics is all about. The team demonstrated two of their previous years' robots and showed off the equipment in the SMERT rooms. We're looking forward to working with Kinecta in the future. Thanks so much, Kinecta!
Robotics also held the 4th session of the Peninsula STEM camp. 5th graders were taught about the 6 simple machines and how to build mousetrap cars. This project will be continued next week. Parents and students of the program will have the opportunity to see and interact with our robots during this last meeting.
BOEING INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
This past summer eight seniors from Peninsula High participated in the Boeing Internship program. Students from throughout the South Bay were selected for the program based on the strength of their applications and in-person interviews. The Pen students selected were: Olivia Jo Bradley, Lauren Kong, Jocelyn Ma, Saahil Parikh, Robert Peltekov, Stacey Surace, Robert Wakefield-Carl, and Skylar Winig. To learn about some of the projects they worked on at Boeing check out this
Boeing Summer Internship Program Review Newsletter. Current Juniors interested in this program for next summer should watch for announcements in early spring 2019.
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QUARTER GRADES
The first quarter ended on Friday, October 26. Report cards will NOT be mailed home for this grading period. Quarter grades can be accessed by parents and students through their
Aeries Portal.
SENIOR ATHLETES
Planning to play NCAA Division 1 or Division 2 sports in college? If so, please register with the NCAA and send in an official transcript ordered from Mrs. Juge in the Counseling Office. To verify that your PVPHS coursework will meet NCAA requirements, you can submit a request to your counselor asking for a review.
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EL CAMINO COLLEGE - 2018 COLLEGE NIGHT
El Camino will be holding an open house for prospective students on Wednesday, November 14 from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. on the El Camino campus. College Night at El Camino College 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. More information and the RSVP link are HERE on the El Camino website.
FINAL COLLEGE REP VISITS
This is our final week of College Rep Visits in the College Career Center. We have been fortunate to be able to host over 150 Colleges in the CCC over the last 9 weeks. Please check Naviance to sign up and make sure to get your
teacher permission slip signed. Teacher permission slips are available on the CCC page of the www.PVPHS.net as well as on Naviance and in the CCC.
This week the following colleges will be here to meet with interested students:
Scripps College Mon November 5, 2018 10:15 AM
Saint John's University Mon November 5, 2018 12:55 PM
Stony Brook University Tue November 6, 2018 8:00 AM
New York Film Academy Wed November 7, 2018 10:30 AM
Ryerson University Wed November 7, 2018 12:00 PM
Azusa Pacific University Thu November 8, 2018 8:00 AM
Swiss Education Group Thu November 8, 2018 9:00 AM
Grinnell College Thu November 8, 2018 10:15 AM
Saint Louis University Thu November 8, 2018 1:55 PM
Chaminade University of Honolulu Fri November 9, 2018 10:15 AM
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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.
UNINTENDED NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES
When the topic of teen drug or alcohol use comes up, many parents do not pay close attention. The majority feel that their children do not have major issues. When there is a presentation or lecture, they do not feel the need to attend, thinking it does not apply to them. For those where there is an issue, concerns around shame and embarrassment and not wanting to publicly air problems prevents them for seeking help. Compared to most medical problems, substance abuse is endured in silence, and when one needs assistance, there is reluctance to go to a friend, neighbor, or physician, and ask for a good referral. The reality is, the vast majority of your children will not develop an addiction problem. Only about 7% will fall into the most severe category of use in their lifetime. While that may bring some measure of relief, at the Thelma McMillen Center we have learned that the real danger for most is what we call "unintended negative consequences". Any use by a child or teenager exposes them to significant risks. I use the analogy that using is like walking through a mine field, and accidentally stepping on a mine will have a major negative impact.
The following are the major unintended negative consequences that teens encounter, with any degree of use:
- School Problems. For teens who experiment with alcohol and drugs, their school performance often suffers. Some drugs, like marijuana, have significant impact on memory and concentration. While impact may only be a grade or two, such impact has effect on college admission and future. Their friends and activities could change. The vicious cycle then turns towards low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. These consequences are often a result of experimental use, and do not require full blown addiction.
- Legal Problems. Using substances or alcohol is illegal. The consequences for even a single use can be significant. Being ticketed, or even arrested for a substance related issue will follow the child for a long time. Certain legal actions can effect the ability to gain college admission, or to qualify for financial scholarship or assistance. I worked with a law school graduate who was ticketed for alcohol as a teen, and had to defend himself to the moral character committee in order to be admitted to the bar. These are not problems of addiction, but of experimentation.
- Sexual Issues. The use of drugs and alcohol correlate with higher incidences of sexual experimentation. Substance use reduces judgment and good decision making, and can result in sexually transmitted disease, unwanted pregnancy, and accusations of sexual assault. (did anyone watch the Supreme Court confirmation hearings). I have worked with teens who have been accused of sexual assault, and have undergone severe legal and financial consequences. These were not kids who were addicted, but just experimenting.
- Accidents. Over the last twenty years, life expectancy has increased for all ages except 15-24. The three leading causes of death are accident, suicide, and homicide, all linked to drug and alcohol use. Although only 17% of the population, 15-24 year olds are involved in 48% of the fatal accidents. I have worked with many kids who have injured or killed others while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and have undergone significant consequences. The majority of them were not addicted, but just experimenting.
I write to you about unintended negative consequences not to frighten you, but to make you aware of things that could happen without your child having a drug or alcohol problem. It is essential to have a belief and philosophy when it comes to substance use, and to make sure you effectively communicate that to your children. While you will not be able to fully control their behavior, clear messages from you could make a difference. The goal is to delay experimentation. In our program, we have recognized the need to work with early intervention as much as with abuse and addiction. The research indicates that the sooner one intervenes, the less the likelihood to develop an addiction.
Remember, if you have issues you would like to see addressed, please email me at
askdrgelbart@gmail.com
. Your inquiries will always remain anonymous.
Moe Gelbart, PhD
Psychologist
Executive Director, Thelma McMillen Center
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HEALTH TASK FORCE FORMING
This is a message from Kelli Keller, PVPUSD Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction:
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n January 2016, California adopted a new law covering comprehensive health education in public schools, Education Code Sections 51930- 51939 (AB 329) called the CA Healthy Youth Act (CHYA). Students in intermediate and high school must receive comprehensive health education and HIV prevention education from trained instructors. Each pupil shall receive this instruction at least once in middle school and at least once in high school. Here are some facts about the CHYA.
Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) is recommending the following steps to take toward initial, immediate compliance, with future consideration of a complete textbook adoption with the release of the new Health Education Framework in 2021:
- Selecting curriculum to cover CA Healthy Youth Act requirements (Board of Education approval process)
- Determining who will teach the curriculum and in which grades
- Scheduling training, parent education events, and public review of curriculum/opt-out procedures
LACOE strongly encouraged us to use the Adolescent Sexual Health Work Group curricula review as a starting point, as they were charged with grading a subset of comprehensive sexual health education curricula for alignment and compliance with the CHYA.
Here is a link to their review.
Five of the districts in the South Bay Consortium have selected the same resource, while the others are just beginning this process. Administrators across the greater South Bay have continued to communicate with each other as we move collectively forward towards legislative compliance. PVPUSD will coordinate with LACOE to present information to the Board of Education and entire parent community about the changes.
If you are interested in participating in this Health Task Force work, please complete the online CA Healthy Youth Act Task Force form.
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SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
SAVE THE DATES
- PVPHS Athletic Booster Club (ABC) meeting - Wednesday, November 14 @ 6:30 pm in the school library. 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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Congratulations to our football team who beat Ontario Christian 52-28
in Friday night's 1st round playoff game.
This Friday, November 9, the team will travel to take on Pomona
in Quarterfinal Round competition.
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Ethan Han has a running path cleared for him by the strong Peninsula offensive line
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A MESSAGE ABOUT SPORTSMANSHIP
CIF, the governing board of all high school sports, recently distributed a
press release regarding expectations for both students and adults during the playoffs. It reminds all of us to show sportsmanship both on the field and in the stands. The playoffs can be an exciting time for everyone, but unfortunately it can also lead to students and adults displaying inappropriate and sometimes even embarrassing behavior. I hope that this article helps us all remember the true purpose of high school athletics, growing, learning, and having fun in the process. Here are a few key points made in the press release:
- The essential elements of character building and ethics in CIF sports are embodied in the concept of sportsmanship and six (6) core principles: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and good citizenship. The highest potential of sports is achieved when competition reflects these "six pillars of character."
- Participation in school sports programs is a privilege, not a right. To earn that privilege, student-athletes must abide by the rules and they must conduct themselves, on and off the field, as positive role models who exemplify good character.
- Everyone involved in competition including parents/guardians/caregivers, spectators, associated student body leaders, and all auxiliary groups have a duty to honor the traditions of the sport and to treat other participants with respect.
- Coaches have a special responsibility to model respectful behavior and the duty to demand that their student-athletes refrain from disrespectful conduct including verbal abuse of opponents and officials, profane or belligerent trash-talking, taunting and inappropriate celebrations.
I hope that all Peninsula High athletes, coaches and parents will keep it classy by always demonstrating good sportsmanship.
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Monday, Tuesday,
Thursday, and Friday
(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
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Support the Spanish National Honor Society this Tuesday!
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Follow Pen High on the following official sites
@pvphs_principal
@pvphsasb
@pvphszoo
@pvphs_panthers
@pvphs_athletics
@pvphs_store
Have a great week!
Brent Kuykendall
Principal
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