May 10, 2023

Important Dates

May 8-12: Teacher Appreciation Week
May 12: Ovations - Night of One Acts
May 17: IB Leadership Awards
May 18: DLIP Biliteracy Attainment Award Ceremony
May 19: ASB Multicultural Fair
May 19: Health Careers Academy Medallion Ceremony

PTSA News

It's Teacher Appreciation Week

Please take a moment to show our teachers that you care! An email or a card to say "thank you" goes a long way for these hard-working professionals. Thank you to those who donated breakfast-y items so that we can show our appreciation through a daily dose of yogurt, coffee cake and bagels. This was organized by the dedicated PTSA staff appreciation team, Connie Montgomery and St Jon Gauthier.

PTSA Committee Chairs Ending Board Terms

Four fearless committee chairs are ending their terms with PTSA. As I wrap my first year as President, I would like to express my deep gratitude for their dedication, organizational skills and commitment to our community. I'd like to thank these people:

Matt Vasko: Campus Beautification Chair. Matt has tackled weeds, painting, sanding, flags and gym cleaning like a champ. Those "Choose Kindness" signs? All Matt.

Dorena Rodriguez: PTSA Historian. Dorena made sure Blair's many volunteer hours were accounted for, and was an active participant in our info tables and events.

Jamie Lesnever: Financial Reviewer. Jamie 'dove into' coaching girls water polo, but also PTSA and Blair Boosters. She made sure our accounting was accurate - down to the penny!

Leslie Cross: Passive Fundraising. Leslie stayed on the board even after her son graduated - such dedication! She researched easy ways for parents to support our school while we shop and is responsible for thousands of dollars raised for PTSA.

Blair News

2028 Strategic Plan Town Hall

The Pasadena Unified School District is developing a five-year Strategic Plan (2023-2028). The Board is hosting a Town Hall on Thursday, May 11th at 6 pm. Everyone who has a stake in PUSD is encouraged to attend, either in person or online. Your input is important before the Strategic Plan is finalized. Make YOUR voice heard as a PUSD parent.

State of the Schools 2023

The PUSD Board of Education President Michelle Bailey will deliver the 2023 State of the Schools on Thursday, May 18th at 6 pm at John Muir Early College Magnet High School and streamed live. The annual speech about the state of PUSD schools will include the status of the District’s finances, student achievement, and goals for the future. Spanish and ASL interpretations will be available.

Blair Boosters Annual Meeting

The Boosters will hold their Annual Meeting this evening, Wednesday, May 10th at 6:30 pm. Join in person in the high school cafeteria or on Zoom. This is a great opportunity to join the Boosters or renew your membership! There will be elections for the new Board and t-shirts for sale.

Night of One Acts

Ovations will be performing a Night of One Acts this Friday, May12th in Room C1135 on the Middle School Campus. Tickets are free (or pay what you can) and can be reserved here.

High School Sports Updates

Track and Field: Juniors Milan Walker and Destiny Rayburn competed at CIF Preliminaries at Carpenteria last Saturday. Milan scored a personal best 30.2 ft in the shot put. Destiny qualified in the long jump for the CIF Southern Sectional finals this Saturday at Moorpark High.

Swim: Sophomores Reilly Espinosa and Ella Lesnever competed in the CIF Southern Sectional finals last Saturday at Riverside City College. Reilly medaled in the D4 200 yard freestyle, and Ella won the D3 50y freestyle and placed 2nd in the 100y freestyle. She qualified to compete at the CIF State Championships in the 50y freestyle this Friday in Fresno.

The Blair Boosters has a campaign running to sponsor Championship Rings for the Boys Basketball team as a permanent keepsake of their historic season culminating in the first CIF-SS basketball title in Blair History. Click here to sponsor a ring or part of one.

Donations Needed:

Junior Breakfast

The Class of 2024 is hosting a pancake breakfast on Monday, May 15th and there are a few remaining items on their wishlist. If you can help, please sign up here. Our junior class council has some awesome plans for the upcoming year and would love to host this breakfast to encourage their peers to participate in making their senior year as amazing as possible!

Support the Junior Class:

Chipotle Fundraiser

Skip dinner prep next Wednesday, May 17th, and support our Juniors. Show the flyer in store or use code PB83LGV for online orders.

High School Yearbook Update

The high school yearbooks are sold out but we are hoping to order a new batch to be printed. We have to get at least 50 people to request a yearbook in order to put in an order for more books.

Anyone who emails Ms. Linardos to request a book will be put on the waiting list. If we get enough requests, we will let you know when we can reopen the website so that you can order them and pay. (The cost is TBD but will likely be $85-$90.)

Donations Needed: Cake!

The classes of 2024 and 2025 are collaborating on a festive Cake Walk at the ASB Multicultural Fair on May 19th. They are asking for 18 store-bought or homemade cakes. (If homemade, please avoid allergens such as nuts). Please drop off your cake in the high school office by Friday, May 19th at noon. Sign up here -- there are still a few slots left!

The Inside Scoop - Virtual Student Panel

Students in grades 9-11, join CAP for a virtual student panel today Wednesday, May 10th at 6:30 pm to hear from current PUSD seniors and recent graduates about tips, tricks, and lessons learned from applying to and attending college. Represented institutions include PCC, CSUN, UCLA, USC, Virginia State, and more. Register here.

DLIP Biliteracy Attainment Awards

Save the Date: The DLIP Biliteracy Attainment Award Ceremony for 8th and 10th Graders will be held in the Blair Bowl on Thursday, May 18th at 5:30 pm. Questions? Contact Ms. Tovar.

Finals Grams

The Sophomore class will be selling Finals Grams at the Student Store from May 22nd to 26th. Support your friends and the Class of 2025! Win-Win!

Grad Nite Bus Signups:

May 8th-12th

Grad Nite bus signups will be available outside of Room A315 before school, during passing periods, nutrition, lunch, and after school until 4 pm. Sign up for a bus to take you to Grad Nite and pick up a permission slip and other important information. Permission slips are due no later than May 16th.

Senior Video and Slideshow

Seniors!! This is your chance to add yourself and your friends to the senior video and slideshow! Reach out to Adia Rayburn or Ananya Bhargava through email to figure out the best way to share. Please send all photos or videos by Wednesday, May 24th!

Photos can be dated all the way back to 6th grade but please keep videos to senior events this year.

CSULA Q&A Sessions

Cal State LA will be hosting virtual Q&A Sessions for students every Monday from 3 to 4 pm through May 22nd. Students may join any Zoom session to ask me a quick question.

Scholarship Opportunities

Epic Flight Academy will award six high school scholarships totaling $75,000 in the areas of flight training and aircraft mechanics. Click here for details.

The Amara Young Alumni Scholarship will award $500 to one Black and/or Latino college-bound senior. Details for applying can be found here. Application deadline is Monday, May 15th.

The Genita Evangelista Johnson Endowed Scholarship is a need-based award that provides $2,500 to one female African American high school senior in Los Angeles County, who has been accepted into a four-year collegiate program and has a strong interest in pursuing a career in medicine. Click here for more information.

The application deadline is Sunday, June 4th.

Comprehensive lists of scholarships are available from StudentScholarships.org, the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, and Bold.org.

Are you applying for any scholarships? Please communicate with Ms. Escalona or your counselor what scholarships you have applied for so that we can keep track of this information and support you in seeking other scholarship opportunities.