| PTSA Newsletter | April/May 2012 | Volume 10, Issue V |
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Dear Sea Kings: Similar to the STAR tests last year, a lot rides on this WASC visit. But I think that the difference here is that the WASC self-study, visit and following accreditation term is a much more in depth and genuine assessment of our school and what our students are learning. The purpose of the visit is to validate the findings of our self-study, the one that we wrote. The accreditation process is really self-driven by the school. The visiting team's job is to make sure we are doing a good job assessing ourselves and that we have a logical plan for the next six years. So the hard work is already done; we have already studied ourselves and compiled over 270 pages about PVHS. I would like to thank Jennifer Egan, Tammi Sheridan, Christina Varela, Tecia Barton, Marie Kuhn, Julie Chupp and Lea Toombs. These teachers have gone above and beyond for the last two years in preparation and completion of our self-study and visit. As focus team leads, they met after school, wrote for hours outside of work and organized focus teams in order to analyze a particular aspect of the school. Not only did they write a brilliant report, they and their teams made key insights that will help drive our school forward. The visit is the time when we get to shine and show off our school. At times, WASC feels like an obligation, just another thing we have to do that makes us work harder, longer and takes away from what we thought we signed up to do. I hope that we view this visit as an opportunity to show off what we have done, who we are and the great school that we have helped to build together. Our self-study does not claim that we are a perfect school, nor are we. But WASC gives us an opportunity to get better. There were several meetings with parents who participated in the WASC focus groups and school site council. Cowabunga! Thanks to the support of our PVHS community, Catch the Wave 2012 raised a record $133,000! Our online auction was our most successful ever, and the total for our online and event auctions also set a record. Thanks to all who sponsored the event, donated auction items, bid on and purchased auction items, attended the event or volunteered. The Booster Club's Catch the Wave proceeds support academics, arts and athletics at PVHS. Sincerely, Nick Stephany, Ed.D.
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Dear PVHS Parents, Spring is here and the school is a busy place with finals, college prep tests (or waiting for admission news), the WASC visit, teacher appreciation, spring sports, preparing for STAR testing, disaster drills, and of course, graduation. It is a big challenge to keep track of everything that PVHS has to offer our students, but we are here to help! Please join us at the next PTSA general meeting, held on the fourth Tuesday of the month at 9:30 in the MPR. Our administrators always join us for an informative and fun session and you are encouraged to ask questions and raise any concerns you have. You also can stay informed by checking out the school website, which lists schedules, announcements, news, and other events. Parents of sophomores and juniors -- please mark your calendars for Peter Van Buskirk's return engagement of "The Admission Game" at PVHS on April 25 at 6:30 in the MPR. Mr. Van Buskirk is a former admission counselor who puts a unique and informative spin on the daunting process of applying to college. I wish all our families at PVHS a safe and restful spring break. Go Sea Kings! Sue St. Denis |
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PVHS Lip Dub for 2012 Open House When it comes to school spirit, we crown the students at Palos Verdes High School today's winners. In the above video, these talented teens created a virtual video tour of their campus, including everything from the science department to the photography studio, while singing along to Nicki Minaj & Will.I.Am's "Check it Out." |
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Adopted Slate for the PVHS PTSA Executive Board 2012-2013 President: Lisa Tellenbach Slate of Candidates for PVP Council Executive Board 2012-2013 President: Julie Arico Election to be held on March 16, 2012 at the Council Annual Meeting at Ridgecrest Intermediate School |
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Costume Closet!
Wednesday- 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. We are closed Memorial Day Weekend May 26 and May 28th Location- 300 “D” Paseo Del Mar, Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274
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CTE: Career Technical Education According to the California Department of Education, Career Technical Education (CTE) is defined as: In other words, CTE is just not “Vocational Education” or “Industrial Arts”. CTE includes a wide range of courses and career pathways which includes Business & Marketing, Heath Careers Education and Industrial & Technology Education. Every quarter, several teachers from PVHS meet with their counterparts from Peninsula High School at a PVPUSD CTE Committee Meeting. PVHS teachers include: Kristy Jiminez (Art), Rene Vela (Video Production) and Graham Robertson (Engineering). Trista Ramirez is our Administrative Representative (Curriculum) and I represent the College & Career Center. In April, we met on the campus of Los Angeles Harbor College where we toured their new building housing their Architecture and Engineering & Drafting Departments. Mr. Michael Song, Chairman of the Department of Architecture was our host and tour guide. An accomplished architect himself, his enthusiasm for a program he helped to develop with state-of-the-art equipment left all of us feeling impressed. He repeatedly stated, “I would love to work with your (PVPUSD) students.” “Our (LAHC )students are not required to have an “art or design” background, just a simple desire to learn. In the true spirit of a community college serving out neighbors, anyone who is interested in the study of Architecture and design will be given a quality education and training that is equal to senior colleges and industry.”
If you have a desire to pursue your education in the field of Architecture and Design, be sure to check out Harbor College. It also serves as a transfer program to a four-year Architecture Program. Mr. Song is proud of the fact that 90% of his recent transfer students were accepted in four-year universities, some of the best in California. Magic in the Metroplex – Counselor Tour of Texas Colleges Some counselors wait years to be accepted to the “Magic in the Metroplex” tour of Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University, University of Dallas and Austin College. When I received word that I had been taken off the waitlist and invited to participate this year I hesitated because it was during the WASC visit. But thanks to a supportive Administration who recognized this rare and competitive opportunity, I was off to Texas. Our SMU and TCU admission representatives, Rick Diaz and Betsey Hayes, respectively, were also largely responsible for my nomination as a participant and I thank them. SMU and TCU are growing in popularity among PVHS students and I can understand why. Our bus driver and SMU Admission tour guide wisely drove us through the surrounding neighborhood known as the Park Cities where large, expansive homes, reminding me of the PVHS neighborhood, border the university. The campus was beautiful and inviting. While the name, Southern Methodist implies a religious affiliation, there is none. The roots of the college is with the Methodist Church but only a Divinity School adjacent to the main campus remains affiliated with the Church. Often compared with USC in size and rigor as a private liberal arts college, SMU offers a broad range of education programs and a law school on the main campus. Construction is underway for the George W. Bush Presidential Library adjacent to the school that will provide additional programs in politics and foreign policy. Also found on campus is an art museum with the largest collection of Spanish art in the United States. SMU has also been generous to PVHS students with merit scholarships. For more information, visit their website: www.smu.edu. Also check out the scattergrams on Naviance. TCU blankets the City of Fort Worth in purple. Major construction and renovations are underway on the football stadium as the Horned Frogs gets ready to join the Big 12 conference this fall. The campus is breathtakingly beautiful. Our tour guides were quick to point out a wealthy alumna of TCU endowed a major gift to the university to make sure the landscaping was colorful and changed every few weeks. We happened to visit as hundreds of tulips were blooming in flower beds and planters across campus. The education programs were impressive and facilities were state of the art. The Honors College was a stand-out program for incoming freshmen. A medium-size liberal arts college with its foundation in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), there is no strict religious requirement, such as attending chapel, but rather a holistic approach to studying religion of choice and global concerns. A little over 40% of TCU students come from outside of Texas. It is definitely worth checking out: www.tcu.edu Two smaller schools were included on the tour: University of Dallas and Austin College. The University of Dallas is a small, private Catholic university. One of their highlight programs includes studying abroad at their campus in Rome. The curriculum includes a classical study of “the greatest works that Western Civilization has produced in philosophy, history, politics, theology, literature, science, mathematics and art.” Located outside of Dallas in Irving, Texas, a new light rail station located on the edge of campus will connect students with opportunities in Dallas and Fort Worth. The University of Dallas prides itself on being “The Catholic University for Independent Thinkers.” More information at: www.udallas.edu. Austin College is a small liberal arts college located in Sherman, Texas, about an hour north of Dallas. It has a strong emphasis in study abroad and international studies. It has the highest percentage of study abroad students for its size in the United States. They have a January term that is conducive for abroad travel and many students will have more than one abroad experience. They also have a residential language house where only that language is spoken while in the house. Listed as one of 40 colleges listed in the book “Colleges That Change Lives” by Lauren Pope, additional information can be found at: www.austincollege.edu. Questions? See me in the College & Career Center and meet with your Counselor to make sure you are on track to meet admission requirements. |
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Library News
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” ― Jorge Luis Borges Visit to UCLA’s Charles E. Young Research Library: As a parent of a UCLA student, I recently attended an evening session at the newly renovated 1st floor of the UCLA’s Charles E. Young Research Library (see above quote etched in the glass there). I was very impressed by University Librarian Gary Strong’s presentation about the resources and technology available at their facility, considered one of the top ten academic libraries in North America. I learned that UCLA has 500 electronic databases at a cost of $55 million a year. But did you know that books are still alive and well at the university library? It was particularly interesting to note that their circulation of books has significantly increased. When students were queried, the response was that reading on electronic devices/computers was too distracting. Students found that having books in hand increased their ability to focus on the information. I learned that after winter break, the four large book collection bins outside the research library were filled to capacity and had to be emptied every hour. During the presentation, a parent inquired how high schools could prepare their students for the college research experience, to which Gary Strong strongly denounced school libraries and their failure to teach information literacy skills. After the presentation, I approached Gary and introduced myself as a credentialed librarian. He was very surprised and warmly greeted me as a rare breed in this day of budget cuts. He asked the name of our school and when I responded, he nodded and mused, “Of course.” I mention this to recognize our district and our school administration for the importance they give to professional staffing at our high school library, not only for my certificated position, but also for a full-time assistant to run our library. As a follow-up to that, I contacted the Head of (UCLA’s) College Library, Dr. Kelly Miller, who met with our English department chair, Lea Toombs, and myself in an effort to incorporate information literacy skills instruction in specific places in our English curriculum. With her support, we will develop a continuum at our school. We are much further along than most other high schools in this area. Keep in mind that throughout our state, some school libraries have closed their doors due to budget issues; others are staffed with only paraprofessionals with no professional training in school librarianship. In a workshop I attended in November at the state school library conference, we were given sample copies of actual college instructors’ assignments. In all the samples I received, book (print) sources were a required resource in addition to electronic databases (information that is not available on the Free Web). Please support our school’s library budget, either through direct Gifting to the Library or the through the Academic Committee of the Booster Club. These are our sources to fund our school’s subscriptions to nine databases, Turnitin.com, and NoodleTools as well as all our print and other resources. These are some of the ways that the PVHS library does its part in preparing students to be 21st century lifelong learners prepared for college research.
Aileen Willoughby |
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California Scholarship Federation (CSF)
SENIOR SEALBEARERS: Congratulations to 165 of our seniors who have achieved Life Member status in the California Scholarship Federation (CSF). Also known as Sealbearers or Gold Sealbearers, these students will be receiving their awards (gold cord for graduation, Life Member pin, certificate) at the Senior Sealbearer Banquet on Monday, April 16th. From these 165 Sealbearers, PVHS has the distinction of having two of them, Lisa Sinow and Sarah Miller, selected as Finalists in the prestigious Seymour Memorial Award program, considered one of the highest academic awards presented to high school seniors in California. PVHS CSF has a terrific track record in this program. In the 6 years that we have been submitting candidates (each CSF high school can submit two names), we have had a Finalist each year. On top of that, for three years, we managed to have two Finalists, and in two separate years, a PVHS Sealbearer was selected the winner of the award. Lisa and Sarah will be interviewed at the upcoming Spring CSF conference on April 28th, along with 8 other Finalists who are vying for the coveted award which brings with it $5,000. Go Sea King Scholars! SPRING SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL CONFERENCE: Hosted this year by Crescenta Valley High (at 2900 Community Avenue, La Crescenta), the annual CSF regional conference will be held on Saturday, April 28, 2012 with registration and a light breakfast starting at 8:30 am. It will be a day of fun and learning, networking with CSF members from other schools, and attending workshops. Last year we hosted this conference at LMU and had the largest number of attendees from one school. The theme this year is SYNERGIZE! Because we have two Seymour Award Finalists, we hope to have a large cheering section of PVHS students. A bus ride is planned if 40 students are interested. $35 for registration & bus. Permission slips in the library. Sign up by March 28th . SPRING MEMBERSHIP DRIVE (based on January 2012 report card): Congratulations to 844 Sea Kings in grades 9 through 12 who are now members. They are being reminded to participate in one of the designated donation or service opportunities currently posted on the CSF webpage or on fliers in the library. With about half of our student body in this honor organization, we are among the largest chapters in the state. COMMUNITY SERVICE: Our spring children’s book donation drive (March 12 through 23) will benefit the Helen Coffey Reading Room which is being established in her memory by First Book South Bay/L.A. and the Coffey family of Palos Verdes. The Reading Room will be at the new Harbor Interfaith Family Resource Center and will open this spring. Before her passing, Helen was an active member of First Books, a national organization which provides children of socioeconomically disadvantaged communities with their very own (first) books. It was through Helen that PVHS CSF began supporting First Books in its mission, and over the years, we have received many wonderful Thank You letters from the children themselves. PVHS CSF Members Spring 2012 PDF Aileen Willoughby |
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Registration begins:
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Panthers & Sea Kings Walk For Life
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From the PTSA President:
