Welcome to the forty-fifth edition of
Panther Press,
a biweekly electronic newsletter sent to families and friends of
San Joaquin Memorial High School
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- College Board Honors AP Capstone Students
- November Day-Retreat Success!
- Veteran’s Day Urban Plunge
- November Fill the Bus
- SJM Junior Accepted to CODA Regional Honor Orchestra
- Scholarship Application Opens December 1
- Order Your Yearbook and Yearbook Ads
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College Board Honors AP
Capstone Students
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In September, the College Board released its AP Capstone Certificate and Diploma winners. Last year, sixteen of twenty students successfully completed both AP Seminar and AP Research earning either an AP Capstone Certificate or Diploma. To earn an AP Capstone Certificate, students must earn an AP score of 3 or higher in both AP Seminar and AP Research.
Above L to R: Nicole Smittcamp, Alastair Teixeira, Fred Faul, Jack Sampson, Sasha Richburg, and Nathalie Medrano (not pictured: Jazmine Cortez)
To earn an AP Capstone Diploma, students not only must an AP score of 3 or higher in both AP Seminar and AP Research but must also earn scores of 3 or higher in 4 other AP courses. Two students from the Class of 2021 earned an AP Capstone Certificate, Daniel Flores and Chris Valdez, while 7 students earned the AP Capstone Diploma: Emma Farris, Catherine Gleason, Ellie Luchini, Gabriela Martinez, Xochilt Noriego, Cate van Garsse, and Amelia Wiseman. Impressively, there were 6 juniors (last year) who earned at least an AP Capstone Certificate and are eligible to earn an AP Capstone Diploma this year: Jazmine Cortez, Fred Faul, Sasha Richburg, Jack Sampson, Nicole Smittcamp, and Alastair Teixeira. One junior, Natalie Medrano, earned an AP Capstone Diploma.
The AP Capstone Program has been highly successful since its inception at San Joaquin Memorial in the 2018-2019 school year. For the 3 completed years of AP Seminar, 95 students have taken AP Seminar and 89 students have earned an AP Score of 3 or better for a pass rate of 94%, compared to 81% nationally. Incidentally, all students in last year’s AP Seminar sections earned an AP score of 3 or higher for a 100% pass rate. For AP Research (which follows AP Seminar), 33 students (two completed years) have been enrolled and 27 students earned an AP score of 3 or higher for 82% pass rate, compared to 72% nationally. These courses have been or are currently being taught by Ed Borges, Laura Holden, and Joseph Olivares.
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AP Capstone Diploma: Nathalie Medrano |
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November Day-Retreat Success!
On November 13th Freshmen and Sophomores were able to travel to Calvin Crest Conferences for a day filled with recreational and faith-based activities. Retreatants heard testimonials and participated in community builders, small group sessions, musical worship and prayer time. Student quotes: "I learned how to find God in the ordinary and not just in extraordinary things" What I got out this retreat is "becoming closer with God and feeling his presence."
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Veteran’s Day Urban Plunge
by Veronica Cortez, SJM Service Education Coordinator
This past Veterans Day, the Service Education department took 16 students and 3 staff members to serve a local veteran with the Habitat for Humanity Act of Kindness Veteran’s program. Pat Palomino, an SJM alumna,‘60 once shared her home with her late husband who was in the Marines. He then was discovered as a great parachute rigger and later wound up teaching others the same skill. Pat lives on about a half acre or more in rural Clovis. SJM students and staff were able to remove an old fence from the perimeter of her property, hang up lantern lights around her patio, raked fallen leaves around the property and spent some very valuable time with Pat. Jazmine Cortez, ‘22 states, “The best part of this service was seeing Pat smile and thanking us all for helping her out. She was really happy and appreciative of what we had done for her.” This project meant so much to Pat, she was very grateful she was almost brought to tears.
Through this service, students were asked to answer the following question, In what way has God taught you to love “thy Neighbor” is our community? Nicolas Dovali, ‘23 shared, “ In Mark 12:31 Jesus tells us that this is one of the most important actions as Christians when Jesus says, “The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Our neighbor is any other person in the world, our family and our community is where this commandment begins. If people who are living in my community are in need of help, it is my responsibility to help.” Through the SJM Urban Plunge students were able to connect with Pat, themselves and their peers through Christ’s love.
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November Fill the Bus
by Veronica Cortez, SJM Service Education Coordinator
It was nice to return to the Boys and Girls Club with 14 San Joaquin Memorial students on the Fill the Bus service project. This was the first time for most of our students volunteering with this non-profit. The nervousness and shyness they all felt when arriving was soon forgotten about once the kids arrived. The club was filled with laughter, newly formed friendships, and friendly competition. The SJM students ran fun and engaging activities for the kid. The most popular games were Musical Chairs & Run, Turkey, Run Freeze Tag. The kids had lots of energy. Before we ended our time serving, the kids played a friendly game of basketball. Christian Perez, ‘25 says, “I feel like I did make a direct impact because the kids had so much fun and it was because all of us made fun activities for them.“ It was nice to see our SJM students engaged with all the kids to ensure no one was left out of all the fun games.
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Charlotte Burks Accepted to CODA Regional Honor Orchestra
Charlotte Burks will be joining several other string musicians around California as part of the Southern California Regional Honor Orchestra, playing in the first violin section. The orchestra will be performing in Los Angeles on the evening of December 4. Charlotte is also excited to be auditioning for both FMCMEA (Fresno and Madera Counties Music Educators’ Association Honor Orchestra) and High School All-State Honor Orchestra. She currently plays as concertmaster of the advanced ensemble and serves as a tutor and volunteer for the beginner ensemble at United Conservatory of Music.
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You can now order your yearbook!
The books are $90 until December 31, and then $100 until May.
Orders for ads in this yearbook are also on sale now. The ads are $300 for a full page, $150 for half.
The theme of this year's book is "Better Together."
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Spread the Word About Memorial |
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The SJM 2022-2023 Application for NEW incoming freshmen and fall transfers is open now on the SJM website. Help us spread the word by passing this information on to prospective parents and students! For assistance in the application process or to schedule a tour of the SJM Campus, contact Bianca Blanchette, Director of Admissions at (559) 268-9251 EXT 139 or bblanchette@sjmhs.org
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Want access to the latest pictures of student activities, sports and more? Or the latest updates? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or check out our website!
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Connect With Us
The best way to stay connected to Memorial is to watch your email for our Panther Press newsletter for parents and students. Keep up with the latest important news and learn more about the school! Change your email? Let us know so you can continue getting updates.
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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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