Principal's Message

The traditions of a high school homecoming are alive and well in 2019.  There were spirited dress-up days the entire week and all students came together for a Friday rally featuring performances, games, and skits.  The teacher dance remains a crowd favorite.  A parade of homemade floats during halftime at the Friday night football game brought students and parents together.  There was also a Saturday night Homecoming dance in the gym.

Rudy the Raven, surfing in on the shoulders of Sequoia's football players at Friday's Homecoming rally.

 

	Freshman float at half-time.

Likewise evident were the twists that make these traditions idiosyncratic to Sequoia and our specific collection of students in any given year.   This year's theme, for example, "Beach Ball", set a casual and light vibe for the week.  With the obvious exception of Purple Friday, Sports Team Tuesday was the most popular dress-up day (Pink Wednesday was a close second).  T he debut of the Raven as Sequoia's official mascot provided the opportunity to share a new origin mythology, punctuated by Rudy being hoisted onto a large paddleboard and carried into the rally by a group of football players.  

As I soaked in the school spirit at lunch on Friday, immediately following the rally, it occurred to me that I had no idea whatsoever as to the origins of this peculiar tradition: homecoming.  Who's coming home?  It's not Thanksgiving for another month and a half.  In fact, as it's the end of the first quarter, members of a school community such as ours should be focused on assessments and grades instead.  Should we really be interrupting class every day during 3rd or 4th period to tally the number of students participating in each spirit day?  Should Sequoia's small but mighty drumline really be bopping down the otherwise empty hallways to signal to the school that the rally is imminent?

Of course they should.  Homecoming is about celebrating the fact that a community such as ours exists.  The hard work of the performers preparing their routines, the pep band perfecting their repertoire of jumpy tunes, the students and parents working into the night on homecoming floats are about not just feeling proud of Sequoia, but showing it.  If you step back into an increasingly cynical world, it's easy to find it all hokey or quaint.  But I can report that having been in the mix over the course of the week, homecoming activities are highly affirming as a celebration of what we do and who we are.  These expressions of pride matter.

	Student Activities Coordinator Corey Uhalde keeping a watchful eye over the Homecoming pep rally.

Nobody has more fun during homecoming week that Student Activities Coordinator Corey Uhalde.  This is a good thing because, arguably, nobody is working harder during homecoming week than Corey, either.  By Friday night, from his purple hatband to his purple velvet shoes, he's still at the center of all this positivity.  As he wrangles the homecoming floats onto the tack with the football referees staring at their watches and glaring at him, he's no doubt running through a mental checklist for Saturday's dance.  For a student activities coordinator, homecoming means six days of leaving the house before dawn and getting home after dark.  Well after dark.  

Here's to Corey and here's to Sequoia.  As we used to say back at Aloha High School in Beaverton, Oregon during homecoming week: Rah, Rah, Hubber-Dub!

Have a great week!

Best,

Sean

Note: The Powell Gallery is open during the school day lunch-periods.  All visitors to the campus during the school day (including the Powell Gallery) will first need to check-in with the AVP office for a visitor's pass.

Senior year is going to fly by and we want to give you a head's up about what happens at the end of the year.  The PTSA organizes four celebratory events for seniors in the last week of school:

May 28: IB ceremony

June 3: Senior Brunch

June 4: Senior BBQ

June 5: Grad Night 

This is when all of the fundraising and volunteering we've been doing since August of 2016 come to fruition.  With a last push from football concessions and Honey Bear tree sales, we are on track to keep the cost of Grad Night tickets affordable.

What is Grad Night?  It's a midnight cruise around the San Francisco Bay for the new graduates! This fun event is well attended every year and includes a buffet, DJ, dancing, casino games, and a photo booth.  The ticket price includes transportation from Sequoia to San Francisco and back, as well as all of the activities on board. 

This year, we want to  Rock the Boat!  Watch for a flash sale of Grad Night tickets happening on October 29 and 30.  Tickets will be $70 on these two days and then will increase to $80 on Halloween.  Mark your calendars and be sure to take advantage of this early-bird price!

The holidays may seem far off, but they'll be here before you know it! Pre-order your high quality evergreens for the holidays to benefit the Sophomore class of 2022 Safe and Sober Graduation activities. We are offering beautiful and fragrant wreaths, garlands, and centerpieces for $22-28 each.  Plus, back by popular demand, an adorable decorative set of two reindeer for $22.  They will be available for pick-up during the first week of December. Deadline to order is Sunday, November 3, 2019.

This link will take you directly to our product and ordering page.  Payments can be made through PayPal or credit/debit card.

Many families order every year and we appreciate your support!  Please contact Christy Fletcher with any questions.

...So click the purple button on the right and JOIN NOW!

 

With your membership, you can:

Not sure if you have joined yet this 2019-20 year?  Check the latest Membership List.

 

 

The Mini-Grant application period is officially open!  Through the support of the Sequoia High School Education Foundation (SHSEF), the PTSA is able to offer financial grants to enhance the excellent education offered at Sequoia High School.  These grants of up to $750 are designed to encourage creative approaches to learning.  Students, teachers and staff may apply. 

 

Applications will be accepted online until Friday, November 1, 2019.

Go to www.sequoiahs.org

Click on PTSA under the "Parents and Community" tab 

Under the "Quicklinks" title, click on "Sequoia PTSA website"

Click "Programs"

Click "Mini-Grants"

Click "Application and Requirements"

Contact our Mini-Grants committee chairs DeeDee Clarke and Karen Latina at sequoiaminigrants@gmail.com with any questions.

 

Reflections 2019-20: Look Within 

 

 

Enter your artwork and reflect about its meaning to you in one of six categories:  

Be sure to review the rules  on the Reflections page of the PTSA website.

Due on Tuesday, November 12, 2019, at 3:00 p.m. in the Attendance Office.  

 

For a direct donation to SHSEF's mission, please donate to our annual campaign that is currently underway.

 

Ten German exchange students, who had been staying with Sequoia families for the past week, had to say goodbye on Monday.  Their visit marked the 10th consecutive year that a delegation of Kopernikus School Freigericht (near Frankfurt) has visited Sequoia High School.  As there is currently no German club at Sequoia, every summer, Sequoia students can visit Kopernikus School Germany on a private basis.

	Visit to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The students, led by teachers Thorsten Weitzel and Doris Freide-Meyer came to California for a busy two-week learning experience.  After a week of exploring Silicon Valley (with campus tours at Facebook and Stanford), the Pacific Coast, Muir Woods, and iconic sites in San Francisco, they moved in with Sequoia host families and spent their final week attending a series of one-day "internships".  They had the chance to learn about many different types of work places, including local police departments and elementary schools, museums, hotels, two motorcycle stores, and
the City Halls of Redwood City and San Carlos.  Along the way they also volunteered at a pet shelter, in the San Francisco Zoo and at Second Harvest.

	Thumbs up for a visit to the headquarters of an iconic Silicon Valley business.

Of course, the Germans had a chance to shadow classes with their host family siblings, attend
Sequoia sporting events, and spend time with their American host families.  Feeling like you missed out?  Don't worry, there will be opportunities to host next fall and to visit Germany next summer! 

Contact the Program Director Thorsten Weitzel for more information about the German Exchange Program at Sequoia.