Dear Parents and Guardians,
Today, our students enjoyed our first Wellness Wednesday, a time for students to close the books and concentrate on relaxation and self-care.
From musical jam sessions to chess games, basketball shoot out, ultimate frisbee and yoga, our Serra Padres were able to spend a little time unwinding before four sessions of house challenge activities. The activities were in predetermined time blocks. The afternoon was topped off with a visit from Mr. Softee, an ice-cream truck.
We plan to host a couple more of these unwind Wednesdays this semester to build community and to allow our students some time to enjoy additional activities with one another. Enjoy the video below, which we showed students in homeroom before they chose their activities.
Sincerely,
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Charlie McGrath
Principal
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Feeling Sick? Here's what you should do -- Covid Symptom Checklist |
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Four Serra Seniors Named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists |
Serra is pleased to announce that four Padres have been recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as semifinalists in the 2022 scholarship program.
Four Serra students qualified as semifinalists. Conor O’Quigley, William Ou, Varun Popli and Samuel White were nominated for the prestigious scholarship.
These academically talented seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth nearly $30 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. About 95 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing and approximately half of the finalists will win National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
“As principal I am so proud of the work of these four padres,” said Serra Principal Charlie McGrath. “Their achievement is a culmination of their intellectual ability and all the teachers whose professional expectations match the standards we set for our students at Serra High School.”
In 2021, Serra had two semifinalists and six commended students. Students who score in the top 3 percent to 4 percent are named commended scholars, while students who score in the top 1 percent are deemed semifinalists.
We are so proud of these Padres and this incredible accomplishment!
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Virtual College Night for Sophomores
on September 27 at 6:45 p.m.
College Information Night for Sophomores is Monday, September 27 at 6:45 p.m.
Parents and students will attend this event virtually. A link will be shared prior to the event. This is a mandatory event for the sophomores and their parents.
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Parent Zoom Tonight With Ashanti Branch
Ashanti Branch will host a presentation tonight called, "Taking off the Mask." The Zoom link is here.
Ashanti's presentation will begin tonight promptly at 7 p.m. Space is limited, so please log onto the zoom as soon as possible. We will record the evening for those unable to attend.
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Parents' Clubs Meetings in September |
There are meetings on the calendar for the Madres and Fathers' clubs!
Our first Fathers' Club Meeting will take place tonight at 7 p.m. on the blacktop area adjacent to the baseball field.
Hope to see you all there!
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Testing Available On Site at Serra on Tuesdays and Fridays by Virus Geeks |
Testing for unvaccinated students is required on a weekly basis and highly encouraged for vaccinated students as well. Testing is being offered on campus as a courtesy to Serra families.
Virus Geeks will be testing every Tuesday and Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. All results from testing done on Serra’s campus will be available to Serra before school begins the following Monday.
Drive thru testing is also available at Mercy High School in Burlingame every Saturday from 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. If your son tests at Mercy, he will need to let the testing facility know that the results are for Serra.
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Digital Production and Marching Band Happening This Week at Serra
Students in Serra Music Director Joe Murphy's Digital Production class have switched over from digital composition to live sound production.
"The boys were given a task to figure out how to get sound from their voices, through the microphone, through the mixer and out of the speakers with no training or explanation," Murphy said. Both classes were able to figure it out in under five minutes, he added.
The students' next activity will be to set up a PA system on the football field, complete with powered monitors, a mixer, microphones, an input snake and a karaoke rig, so if you hear some beautiful men's voices blaring through San Mateo over the next couple days, that's the students in Serra's Digital Production class.
Also in music news, last week the symphonic band began its marching unit.
"While learning the pep band songs, the will be learning the basics of marching. Though we will not march in any performances, this unit gives the boys a understanding and respect for the art of marching," said Murphy, a unit that he said, helps prepare them in the event that they attend a college with a marching program.
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Advertise Your Business On Serra's Beautiful Campus! |
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Advertise your business with a creative sponsorship opportunity!
Add your company logo and information on a custom-fitted barricade cover that will be placed around Brady Family Stadium and Freitas Field for the entire 2021-2022 athletic season! This includes football, soccer, lacrosse and track & field seasons.
These covers are created with double-sided print and stretchy mesh fabric on perimeter barriers.
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Serra Global Speaker Series To Host Virtual Event Featuring Brett Kopf |
On October 6, the Creative Solutions for the Global Good class will launch the Serra Global Speaker Series with Silicon Valley success story Brett Kopf. Featured in John Doerr's book, Measure What Matters, Kopf was a co-founder of Remind, a web-to-text communication tool for school groups which has been described as the most successful educational technology app in history.
Kopf will speak to the Serra community about what helped him succeed, how to think about one's opportunities, and his new venture, Omella.
Please join us on Zoom on the evening of October 6 at 7 p.m. Please click HERE to register for this free event.
Our second speaker in the 2021-2022 series will be on Wednesday, November 17, with Azure Grimes of Libraries Without Borders USA.
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Zoph Library Blog Celebrates National Heritage Month |
National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed September 15th through October 15th.
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Common Ground Speaker: Parenting Past the Pandemic:
A Guide to Returning to School
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Common Ground Speaker Series is featuring a special webinar that discusses parenting past the pandemic and how to help your children return to school successfully. The talk features pediatricians Dr. Damon Korb and Dr. Tanya Altmann and will guide parents through the new normal. They will also share advice about how to navigate school, home life and extra curriculars for students at all developmental stages as the pandemic continues. The webinar is Thursday, September 23 at 7 p.m. Registration opens tomorrow and closes two hours before the event. |
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Padre Sporting Line Up
Water Polo
Serra Water Polo will play Valley Christian today at Valley Christian. Games begin at 3:30 p.m. with Varsity, 4:30 p.m. for JV and 5:30 for Frosh/Soph. Frosh/Soph also plays again at 3 p.m. at Bellarmine on Friday.
Cross Country
Serra Varsity Cross Country will compete in the Ram Invite at Westmoor on Saturday. The team will depart at 7 p.m. and will return at 4 p.m.
Football
The Freshmen Padres take on Archbishop Mitty at Freitas Field on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. Junior Varsity and Varsity plan Archbishop Mitty at Mitty on Saturday. Kick off for JV is 10 a.m. and Varsity plays at 1 p.m.
GO PADRES!
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Shop Padre Family Businesses! |
If you would like to add your Padre-family business to our list, email us here.
Thank you for your community support and remember to shop small, shop local and shop Padre!
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Download our free Serra App TODAY!
Select your mobile app store below and download directly to your device. Or, search for the app on your phone. Once you download the app, you can log in with your last name and email address.
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Wishing you a wonderful week!
Aimee Lewis Strain
Director of Marketing and Communications
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Junipero Serra High School | 451 West 20th Avenue | San Mateo, CA 94403 | serrahs.com
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