ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER MAY 2015 ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL PTSA Brent Forsee, Principal Principal’s Message Hello PTSA parents, teachers, and students, Thank you to all who were involved in the 2015 Arcadia High School Spring Preview. With over 500 middle school students in attendance, this event is clearly a shining example of the collaborative environment we enjoy throughout AUSD. From the campus and classroom tours, informational seminars by counselors and teachers, information booths, AVID college fair, and student performances, the evening was a resounding success thanks to our students, parent volunteers, and staff. As we move toward the end of the year, May brings with it a significant amount of student testing. This month Arcadia High will administer over 2,000 Advanced Placement Exams as well as the new Smarter Balanced Assessment (linked to common core standards) to our entire eleventh grade class. Please continue to support your student through what can be a stressful month by ensuring they get adequate sleep and take time to enjoy the fun activities. Thank you for the support you give our Arcadia High community and I look forward to seeing you on and around campus. Go Apaches! Brent Forsee AHS Principal Inside this issue: President’s Message 2 Staff of the Month—April The Counselor’s Corner PTSA Honorary Service 3 4 5-6 Honorary Service Flyer Grad Night 2015 Spring Preview Pics 6 7 8-9 Destination Imagination AVID Hispanic Parents Booster Club 10 11 12 Apache Days 13 Pops Concert Info 13 AEF Destination Imagination Pics Orchestra, Choir & Choral FL trip AVID Pics 14 14 15 17 AVID Restaurant Night Flyer Destination Imagination Teams Bios Pops Concert Flyer Scrip Order Form Florida Trip Pics 18 19 20 21 22 Visit the AUSD Website and AHS Website PTSA NEWSLETTER 2014-15, ISSUE X Dr. Brent Forsee, Principal Vicky Stiles, PTSA President Lori Kodama, Editor Next Newsletter Deadline: May 25, 2015 Email articles, flyers, pictures to [email protected] MAY 2015 Page 2 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Vicky Stiles, PTSA President You are all cordially invited to attend our next, and last, PTSA meeting on Thursday, May 28 at 7:00 pm. In addition to the usual “insider” information and PTSA business, we will be presenting our Honorary Service Awards (see Page 5). As always this years’ honorees represent some of the most dedicated and involved volunteers on our campus. These people are the often unsung heroes behind many critical programs at school. Please come out to support these caring folks! Last month we hosted a spectacular Spring Preview Day for middle schoolers (see Pages 8-9). It was a wonderful showcase of all that Arcadia High offers for our children from the facilities, to the extracurricular activities to the wonderful staff. I was also reminded of how special the Arcadia community truly is, as we had hundreds of parents and students all volunteering their time to spotlight their respective groups and programs. If you didn’t get a chance to participate in Spring Preview Day, there are still opportunities for you to show your love for Arcadia High. We have Grad Night on June 17 and no, you do not have to be a parent of a senior to volunteer! For more information see Page 6. We will also have Apache Days in August (see Page 13). Both events rely on hundreds of adult volunteers to be successful. I hope you will join us on May 28. Dr. Forsee will share important information about the end of the school year and you will have the opportunity to hear about some pretty great people. Oh and there will be dessert! I look forward to seeing you! Vicky Stiles Representatives from the Chinese Parents Booster Club presenting Vicky with their generous $3,000 donation for Grad Night 2015 THANK YOU CPBC!!! STAY CONNECTED…. AUSD is getting social! Facebook Follow along on: Twitter Instagram News items and info about all the school and our great programs are being posted on these sites for the convenience of the Arcadia community. Click here to return to Table of Contents Page 3 ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR FABULOUS FACULTY!! STAFF OF THE MONTH—APRIL Sharon Sandoval “Ms. Sandoval was named Staff of the Month for her consistent care for students and collaborative spirit with staff. She is loved by her kids and colleagues alike.” Dr. Brent Forsee Jorge Munoz “Jorge Munoz was named Staff of the Month for his dedication and leadership of the Environmental Science classes, including a trip to Catalina Island during Spring break and celebrating his birthday with them.” Dr. Brent Forsee Click here to return to Table of Contents ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Page 4 THE COUNSELOR’S CORNER SENIORS Friendly reminder for the last months of school: May May 1 is usually the deadline for notifying colleges of your decision. You must submit a Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) officially accepting (or declining) your admission offer. Watch for important deadlines at your chosen college (housing, financial aid, etc). Advanced Placement (AP) exams are given in high schools nationwide. Make sure to send your official AP grade report directly from Collegeboard to your college. If you have not received a notice regarding your Cal Grant application from the CA Student Aid Commission, contact them at 1-888-CAGrant as soon as possible. Submit on-campus college housing forms and payment. SENIORITIS Senioritis is a drop in motivation common among senior students at this time of year. Parents need to be aware of the symptoms, which include procrastination, lack of focus and slipping grades. If you observe these behaviors in your student, we recommend that you stay in contact with their teachers and closely monitor their daily attendance through the parent portal through PowerSchool. From the school website, http://ahs.ausd.net (Click on Parent/Student Portal), or click here. Attendance is critical during the second semester of the senior year. All students are expected to attend regularly. Good attendance contr ibutes dir ectly to good gr ades. Poor attendance can r esult in missed assignments, missed exams, and poor grades. Most students need to pass every class in order to graduate, and MUST pass the state mandated English and Government/Economics courses. Also, seniors who are already 18 years of age may be involuntarily transferred to an alternate educational setting for poor attendance. Admissions offices of four-year colleges expect seniors to maintain their GPA. D’s and F’s in required college prep courses make students ineligible for college admission. A significant lowering of GPA may also result in colleges rescinding a previous offer of acceptance. There is no opportunity to make up credits lost during the second semester of the senior year and still be eligible to participate in graduation activities, including the graduation ceremony. The Arcadia High School graduation policy states: Students must complete 225 credits, as well as pass Algebra 1, the health requirement, the swim survival requirement and the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) in order to earn an Arcadia High School diploma. If a student ends the senior year short credits for graduation, he/she will be given 18 months in which to make up not more than 15 credits at the Arcadia Adult School to obtain an Arcadia High School diploma. Please help your child stay focused and finish strong. The single most important factor for a student's academic success is parent support. As always, we are here to support your student with their personal, academic and career/college needs. Mrs. Toni Fox and Mrs. Tammie Snaer Counselors, Class of 2015 Click here to return to Table of Contents Continued on Page 16 Page 5 ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER AHS PTSA Honorary Service Awards The Arcadia High School PTSA is pleased to recognize both individuals and organizations that so generously support and enrich our high school community. Please join us on May 28th in congratulating this year’s award recipients. Honorary Service Award: AHS Chinese Parents Booster Club Continuing Service Award: Joyce Sakai Continuing Service Award: Maryann Stevens Very Special Person Award: John Tallon Golden Oak Service Award: Kathy Yamane Outstanding Teacher Award: Rita Wilkins Awards will be presented at the Honorary Service Awards and PTSA Installation dessert reception in the multipurpose room (across from the Attendance windows) at 7:00 in the evening. The cost is $10.00 per person. RSVP’S and checks made out to AHS PTSA can be mailed to Leigh Chavez at 2041 Carolwood Dr. Arcadia CA 91006 by May 20th. Leigh Chavez, Honorary Service Chairman [email protected] Please see flyer on Page 6 Calling All Books! Please return any books that you no longer need to the library. DO NOT return any books that you may need to study for finals. Do it now and avoid the long lines. If you want to know which books are on your record, just go to the AHS Library website and put in your ID number. There you will find a list of books on your record. If you have any questions, please come to the library and we can help you. Class of 2015 Website Did you know there is a website just for the Class of 2015? Check it out at 2015.ahs.ausd.net. If you missed the Senior Parent Meeting on March 10th, click here (or go to 2015.ahs.ausd.net and “Click here for Powerpoint Presentation) to be directed to important info and events as the clock ticks down until your senior graduates. Click here to return to Table of Contents Continued from Page 5 Page 6 ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Click here to return to Table of Contents Page 7 ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER AHS GRAD NIGHT 2015 Wednesday June 17th 11 pm - 4am The Class of 2015 has been working hard for their entire academic career and Grad Night is THE way to celebrate their achievements (only AHS seniors attend)! Many teachers and administrators also join in the festivities. Grad Night is a party hosted by mostly PARENTS OF SENIORS… and we need your help! VOLUNTEER! It’s a ton of fun to volunteer chaperone this amazing event! Please click here to sign up. We especially need help for the second shift, 1:30 to 4:30 am. You don’t need to be a parent of a senior to volunteer, just 21 or over. For more questions about volunteering, contact Sharon Van Kirk at [email protected]. DONATE! Thanks to everyone who already donated, including the Chinese Parents Booster Club, which donated an amazing $3,000. However, we are still very short. Remember, Grad Night prices at other schools in the So Cal area can be close to $200 per ticket while many are OVER $200! The funds received through ticket sales and donations go towards the seniors being able to enjoy good Food, Desserts, crazy-fun Inflatables, Games, Casino, Fabulous Prizes, a live DJ with music and dancing and much MUCH MORE! Here are some ways YOU CAN HELP! Direct Donations (tax deductible): Please click her e to be directed to AHS PTSA’s brand new PayPal “donate” button! If you prefer to donate through cash or a check (payable to “AHS PTSA”), you can drop it off at the front desk of the Student Services Building or mail it to school “ATTN: PTSA Grad Night”. Please write “Grad Night” on the memo line of the check. Donations to Grad Night are completely optional. Matching Donations through Employers: Many companies will match any donations made. Please check with your company if they offer such a program. Scrip Donations: Help our seniors while helping AHS! Consider buying scrip cards to donate. As an added incentive, your name will be entered into a raffle for orders of $25 or more in scrip donated towards Grad Night (scrip purchased through 5/29). You must indicate which scrip cards are to be donated to Grad Night on the scrip order form in order for your name to be entered into the drawing. The winner receives a $100 Arco card! Scrip Order Form on Page 21 Spread the word!: Let others know we need volunteer help and donations! If you haven’t already done so, please have your senior purchase a Grad night ticket at ASB Our last senior parent Grad Night meeting is: June 1st, 7 pm (Science Lectur e Hall) Thank you for your support! Karen Acosta ([email protected]) & Lori Kodama ([email protected]) Your 2015 PTSA Grad Night Chairs Like us on Facebook! AHS Grad Night 2015 Facebook We’re on Twitter too! @ArcadiaHigh2015 Click here to return to Table of Contents ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Page 8 Spring Preview 2015 Click here to return to Table of Contents Contineud on Page 9 Page 9 ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Spring Preview 2015 Continued from Page 8 Click here to return to Table of Contents ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Page 10 DESTINATION IMAGINATION http://www.globalfinals.org/on-site-registration/ Congratulations to two Arcadia High School’s Destination Imagination teams! They are going to advance to compete at Destination Imagination Global Finals 2015 from 5/20/15 to 5/24/15 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Kneel two JelZ : winning members are: Justin Yeung (10th), Neel Narvekar (10th), Julia Lok (9th), Zoe Imansjah (9th), Chelsea Lai (9th) Dinamic Minds: winning members are: Jacqueline Chang (10th), Harrison Yue (10th), Tiger Sun (10th), and Victor Tung, (10th) Kneel two JelZ won 1st place at the L.A. Regional tour nament on 2/28/15 and then went on to win 3rd place at State tournament (Northern CA and Southern CA) of Destination Imagination on 3/28/15. Kneel two JelZ competes in the challenge of The Improvisational Games. DInamic Minds won 2nd place at L.A. Regional tour nament on 2/28 and then 3rd place at State tournament (Northern CA and Southern CA) of Destination Imagination on 3/28. DInamic Minds competes in the challenge of Technical. Please see page 19 for more info on both teams There are 6 different Challenges: Brand Aid, Creature Feature, Feary Tales, Lose to Win, Making Waves, and The Improvisational Games. The purpose of Destination Imagination is: Destination Imagination (DI) is a cause-driven, volunteer-led non-profit organization dedicated to teaching students the creative process through STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), the arts, and service learning Challenges. For more than 30 years, DI has helped more than 1.5 million kids tap into their creativity and learn the skills they need to build successful careers. Annually, participants are: 200,000 students, 15,000 teams, 48 states, 30 countries. For Global Finals, there are 16,000 attendees, 1,400 teams, 8,000 students. AHS will send 9 students in two teams there. The advisor for AHS Destination Imagination is Ms. Alisha Dagis (S-110). Learn more about Destination Imagination at www.destinationimagination.org GOOD LUCK to AHS Destination Imagination Teams: Kneel two JelZ and DInamic Minds Click here to return to Table of Contents Contineud on Page 14 ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Page 11 AVID BOOSTER PARENTS STAY TUNED Have you seen the latest news and activities regarding AVID? It’s easy to stay tuned year-round, just follow us on Twitter. Recently we posted pictures of our students at their college fair, Spring Preview Day and college tours. You can also see the many accomplishments from AVID students throughout the US on the national feed. Follow us and keep-up with our amazing students! Twitter Feeds: @AHSAVIDBoosters - our address @ AVID4College - national address YOUR PARTICIPATION REQUESTED AT LAST MEETING OF THE YEAR Your participation and input is very valuable as we plan end of the year, summer and fall activities. We are guided by your interests and opinions, so please come and share them with us. Let’s model active participation for our kids. Your assistance is essential to grow and improve our Club. No experience is necessary and all backgrounds are welcome. Also, if you’re interested in a leadership position, we have several to choose from. Whether you can pitch-in with an hour or more, our Club would greatly benefit from your contribution. AVID is growing and we have eager students and parents coming in next year, so please help us plan exciting events ahead. All AVID parents/guardians are welcome. This will be the last meeting of this academic year. Please join us for our Planning Meeting on: Tuesday, May 12 at 7:00 PM AHS Multi Purpose Room (through main entrance on Campus, it’s 1st room on left side) DONATE WHILE YOU DINE! The AVID program provides our students amazing benefits. Here’s a fun and easy way to contribute for: the college tours, guest speakers, added tutors, college prep tests, Fun Fridays, special counselors and so many other extra perks our students have enjoyed. Just bring your family to dine at Matt Denny’s during our AVID fundraisers. Matt Denny’s is a family restaurant with an extensive menu. Just mention AVID to the server and they will donate 20% of your check to us. Proceeds will fund AVID scholarships and additional college tours. Please spread the word and the flyer on page 18 to your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Also, please post it on your social media sites so we may maximize our publicity. The more traffic we generate, the larger the contribution to AVID Boosters. Please plan to join us: Matt Denny’s Restaurant 145 Huntington Drive, Arcadia (626) 462-0250 Wednesday, May 20, 11 AM - 9 PM CONGRATULATIONS! Cody Chang and Andrea Hernandez were recently selected as members of AHS Senior Men and Women. They will represent AVID proudly as they serve in our school’s premier service organization. Kudos to our first AVID SMW members! 6TH COLLEGE TOUR On April 23 our AVID juniors and sophomores had the opportunity to continue their college tours. Pomona College and Claremont McKenna extended their warm hospitality to our students where they met with admissions representatives and toured the campuses. For our juniors, these colleges mark their 6th college visits provided by AVID. SPRING PREVIEW We were proud to participate in the AHS Preview Day for the very first time. It was a fantastic, multi-faceted AVID showing to the many 7th and 8th graders and their parents! Continued on Page 17 Click here to return to Table of Contents Page 12 ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER UC Admissions Presentation The Hispanic Parents Club’s (HPC) recent meeting had a terrific turn-out, where guest speaker, Mr. Juan Villegas, Associate Director of Admissions at UC Merced, shared valuable information with our parents and students on admission into the UC schools. If you missed this event or you would like to review the presentation, you can click here: UCPresentation.ppt Spring Preview Once again HPC was well represented at this year’s Spring Preview Day. Our parent volunteers shared with potential students and their parents how HPC can support them throughout their time at AHS. Our gratitude to Claudia Bocanegra, Raquel Acosta and Angela Francia for their assistance at this event. HPC Needs Your Participation Our Club provides valuable support to parents and students through: informational meetings, guest speakers, academic resources, college tours, cultural celebrations, and much more. To continue to offer these important services and remain active, HPC needs your involvement. Everyone can participate and assist, no experience is necessary. Join us in planning the future of our Club, your input and opinions are essential. Together we can plan meaningful events for our parents and students. You can contribute with your input, attendance, service and/or by taking-on a leadership role. All are welcome! Please join us at: HPC Planning Meeting Thursday, May 21 at 7:00 PM AHS Multi Purpose Room (across from Attendance Office) HPC E-Mail: [email protected] HPC Website: www.hispanic-parents-club.ahs.ausd.net Click here to return to Table of Contents ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Page 13 Apache Days Mark your calendars! Apache Days will take place in August to give students the opportunity to take care of all logistics so teachers can begin instruction on the first day of school. Students can turn in all their paperwork, make necessary payments, take their ID picture, check that they are registered in the proper classes, and get their textbooks. Please make every effort to have your child go to Apache Days on their assigned date (according to their grade level in the fall). Apache Days requires the help of many parent volunteers to make the process run smoothly. “Fast passes” with front of the line privileges will be issued to students whose parents are volunteering. It is a lot of fun, a wonderful opportunity to meet other parents, and a great way to help the school for just a few hours. Volunteers are asked to stay for the whole shift. (Due to the volume of students we are serving, we ask that younger children stay at home so we have your undivided attention in serving our high school students). Here is the schedule: Friday, August 14, 8:00-11:00 am: Seniors (Volunteers 7:45-12:00) Friday, August 14, 12:30-3:00 pm: Music Camp Juniors, Sophomores, & Freshmen (Volunteers 12:15-4:00) Monday, August 17, 8:00-11:00 am: Juniors (Volunteers 7:45-12:00) Monday, August 17, 12:30-3:00 pm: Sophomores (Volunteers 12:15-4:00) Tuesday, August 18, 8:00-11:00 am: Freshmen (Volunteers 7:45-12:00) Tuesday, August 18, 12:30-3:00 pm: Make Up (Volunteers 12:15-4:0) The following are Grade Level Chairpersons to contact if you are interested in helping: Seniors: Holly Her nandez, Shar leen Nakamoto & Evelyn Wong Juniors: J udy Lee & Nana Shen Sophomores: Kar en Acosta, Donna Noda, Car la Peyton-Thomas & Kathy Yamane Freshmen: Shir ley Chen, Dor is Hayata, Debor ah Howar d, Cher yl Tar sala & Lisa Ter aishiWong. For questions or to help, please contact May Eng or Wendee Nigolian at [email protected]. We will forward your email to the appropriate Grade Level Chairperson. Thank you in advance for your help! May Eng & Wendee Nigolian Apache Days Co-Chairpersons Pops Concert May 19th & 20th AHS is proud to present its annual Pops Concerts under the stars on May 19th & 20th. Come listen to the nationally renowned Arcadia High School bands and orchestras in one of Arcadia’s most beautiful locations: the Arboretum’s Wedding Garden. Events start at 6 PM and tickets ($10) will be available online at arcadiamusic.org and at the event. Gates adjacent to Ayres Hall will open at 5 PM, if you want to bring a picnic dinner. Dessert and drinks will be available. Come join us for this fabulous community event! Please see flyer on Page 20 AHS on Facebook Check out AUSD’s Facebook page for the remarkable accomplishments AHS students and faculty are making. Recent posts include info about the Government and Science Bowl teams, the $40,000 So Cal Edison scholarship recipient, College Signing Day, along with our National Merit Scholars and Hispanic Scholars. Click here to return to Table of Contents MAY 2015 Page 14 A Contribution to AEF Helps Keep Arcadia Great! Arcadia students are receiving a top-ranked education with increased counseling services and access to the latest educational tools. While Arcadia residents maintain high property values mainly due to the quality of education in our city, AEF supporters play a significant role in upholding theses elevated standards and desirability in our community. If you haven’t done so already, please consider joining your neighbors by making a donation to AEF. It’s not too late to receive an AEF lawn sign or license plate frame as a token of our appreciation for your support. Lawn signs and license plate frames will be distributed throughout the community from May 17th – May 31st. Having an AEF lawn sign in front of your home is a great way to show your pride in Arcadia! Donations may be made online by credit card or by a mailed check. All donations to AEF are tax deductible. To Donate Online: Click Here To Donate By Mail: (send to) Arcadia Educational Foundation (AEF) P.O. Box 660009 Arcadia, CA 91066-0009 Please be advised that minimum donations are required for lawn signs (min. $150) and license plate frames ($min. $500). Thank you! AEF Website Scrip Order Form on Page 21 Destination Imagination Continued from Page 10 DI Team Bios on Page 19 Click here to return to Table of Contents ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Page 15 Orchestra, Choirs & Orchesis Winning Performaces in Florida! Congratulations to our Orchestras, Choirs and Orchesis Dance Company for their fantastic performances in Florida during the Spring Break. We brought a group of about 300 students to Orlando. All the groups put on great shows at Disney World. Concert Choir and Chanteurs performed at Epcot to a supportive audience as they sang through a rain storm. The Orchestras performed to a large crowd at Downtown Disney even with the warm weather and humidity. Orchesis Dance Company ended the performances at Downtown Disney with a high energy show to a fully-packed crowd at the Lakeside Stage. On Saturday, Orchesis performed at the Citywalk Lagoon Stage (the same stage Ellen Degeneres hosted her show while in Orlando) and the Orchestras and Choirs competed at the Worldstrides/Heritage Festival Competition. Here are the awards our Choirs and Orchestras received: Concert Choir – Gold Award Chanteurs (Concert) – Gold Award Chanteurs (Show Choir) - Gold Award 2 Adjudicators Awards (for scoring over 95) Choral Sweepstakes Maestro Award to Veronica Wang for an outstanding solo performance Orchestra 1 – Gold Award Orchestra 2 – Gold Award Orchestra 3 – Gold Award 2 Adjudicators Awards Instrumental Sweepstakes Festival Sweepstakes – (Highest Combined Choral and Instrumental Scores) We are all very proud of all the fantastic and talented performing arts students!! Thanks to our teachers: Mr . Tom, For bes (Or chestr a), Ms. Pin Chen (Orchestra), Mr. Rick England (Choir), Ms. Tedford Liza (Dance), and Ms. Jia Huang (Orchesis) Click here to return to Table of Contents See Page 20 for Pops Concert Flyer and Page 22 for more pictures ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Page 16 Counselor’s Corner Continued from Page 4 JUNIORS Now is the time to start narrowing your list of colleges to which you will apply in the fall of your senior year. Final research on colleges you would like to attend and visits to schools should be done now and over the summer. Consider all variables: Location Major Public or private College size Transportation Financial situation “Match” for your GPA and SAT/ACT scores You should be applying to one or two “reach” schools, which would be considered a stretch for you, a few “realistic” schools, which is a solid match for you based on your GPA and test scores and one or two “safety” schools, where you will be a top applicant. Students who over apply (e.g. applying to schools just to see if they can get in) are actually skewing the numbers for other AHS students. Most private universities get to know trends from high schools across the country. We do not want AHS to be a high school from which students apply but never enroll. Those schools will stop accepting our students. So please, think critically and carefully about the schools to which you will apply for admissions. Make certain you are a good match before you go through the entire application and decision-making process. You will save yourself time, energy and stress, and you will help yourself and all of AHS in the long run. A good rule of thumb is to apply only to private schools that you truly will attend if admitted. COLLEGE START APPLICATION WORKSHOP All Juniors who anticipate needing a counselor letter of recommendation next year for private colleges or scholarships should attend the Jump Start College Application Workshop on Tuesday, May 26th at 3:00 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center. At the workshop, counselors will describe the timeline for the entire application process, highlighting important details on requesting the letters of recommendation and completing a personal Student Data Packet. A student data packet must be completed in order to request a counselor letter of recommendation and will be available online at http://counseling.ahs.ausd.net (Click on College Information) or click here. Please be advised that all requests for private college recommendations and scholarships from the Counseling Department must adhere to specific deadlines and guidelines listed in the Curriculum Guide on page 7. Counselors must receive a minimum of 4 weeks advanced notice (not including holidays) prior to the deadline. For students applying Early Decision with a November 1st deadline, requests for a letter of recommendation must be submitted by October 2nd. For any deadlines prior to October 1st, 2015, students must submit their requests for a letter of recommendation by June 1, 2015. Ms. Winnie Chin and Ms. Jennifer Oku Counselors, Class of 2016 AHS Counseling Website Click here to return to Table of Contents ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Page 17 AVID Continued from Page 11 Thank you AUSD! Your support of our AVID program is greatly appreciated. College Fair - Our AVID students produced a terrific College Fair, highlighting their own college presentations. Thank you AVID students for an impressive College Fair exhibition. AVID Presentations - AVID Counselors led presentations to detail the AHS AVID program to potential students and parents. Thank you counselors for a great recruiting effort. AVID Info Tables - AVID Boosters enthusiastically provided much information to a multitude of parents and students. Special thanks to: Angela Francia, Mary McGinnis, Rebecca Fleming and Shelly Smith. AWARDS CEREMONY—SAVE THE DATE Please plan on attending the exciting AVID Awards Ceremony (“AVID Academy Awards”) on May 28, 6-8 PM in the PAC Cour tyar d. Academic achievements and special r ecognitions will be awar ded to our students, as well as the coveted “All Star” designations. Don’t miss this special celebration of our students’ hard work and the opportunity to share time with our AVID family. We look forward to seeing you there! AVID Boosters Website: http://avid-booster-club.ahs.ausd.net AVID Boosters Email: [email protected] AVID Twitter: @AHSAVIDBoosters Click here to return to Table of Contents Please see flyer on Page 18 Continued from Page 17 Page 18 ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Continued on Page 11 Click here to return to Table of Contents ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Page 19 Contineud from Page 14 DESTINATION IMAGINATION Meet the Teams of DI Kneel two JelZ Justin Yeung, 10th grade Neel Narvekar, 10th grade Julia Lok, 9th grade Zoe Imansjah, 9th grade Chelsea Lai, 9th grade California State Champions 2015 – 3rd place - representing The Improvisational Games Kneel two JelZ (Neel, with two Js (Justin and Julia), plus Chelsea and Zoe) – this group is formed from 5 students who have known each other for about 4 years by competing together representing Science Olympiad Middle School division from Dana Middle School. They began with no idea of what they are doing, yet with time, as they were teammates before, they were able to quickly build up their team and the essential skills for success in future leadership roles. They exceled in great success, resulting in obtaining 1st place in the LA Regional tournament and 3rd place in the CA State tournament. What they learned most was how to be assertive, the ability to demonstrate their strong strategic problem solving skills, and creative thinking with no prior preparation as challenges are not announced until one minute prior to presentation. They also had no advance knowledge of the problem needed to be solved in the category of Instant Challenge until seconds before. The team developed good time management, confidence, and they reflected good consequence decision making on competition days. These five students love science, thus their strategic problem solving skills in the Instant Challenge at State competition allowed them to earn excellent scores. DInamic Minds Jacqueline Chang,, 10th grade Harrison Yue, 10th grade Tiger Sun, 10th grade Victor Tung, 10th grade California State Champions 2015—3rd place - representing Technical Challenge Imagination is an intangible and undefined word. Yet an unlikely combination of six high school sophomores came together and brought creativity to the next level. Besides academics, one understated fact about high school is the opportunity to meet new and different people. Coming into our sophomore years, none of us knew much about Destination Imagination, or one another. Formed mainly through private chats on Facebook, the DInamic Minds is a collaboration of math geeks, diligent writers, and robot enthusiasts. Meetings were not very common in the beginning, however as Regionals approached, we realized that we did not have a creature, props, or even a script. These realizations led to the eventual weekly sessions and the creation of a well-developed plot, characters, and outstanding props. Our work was presented at the competition at South Pasadena Middle School, where we took home second place honors in the secondary level Technical category. With Regionals past us, we set out to tackle our next challenge at hand: State Competition. With the knowledge that our competitors would be hard at work revamping their props and costumes, we set out to ameliorate each aspect of our challenge presentation as well, so that every detail was as crisp as an apple! Without a doubt in our mind, we realized that we were within arm’s reach of getting to the Global Finals. With a new goal at hand, we were driven to work countless hours on our challenge presentation, whether it was buying PVC pipes from our local Home Depot, or cutting out little triangles for teeth on our creature. In short, it was a tiring process, but everything worked out for us when we reached Riverside. Even though the audience was nearly double the size of that at Regionals, we tried our best in the Instant Challenge, and practiced our main challenge throughout the day to ensure our optimal performance. The day was full of excitement and anxiety for all of us, but it was all worth it when the Award Ceremony began. The moment we were called up to the stand to accept our award, we did not realize what we had actually accomplished. Through all of our ups and downs, none of us expected to make it as far as we did, but now that we have, our only wish is to continue on our path to success in Knoxville, Tennessee! Through the trials and tribulations of the past few months, we as a team discovered the true definition of imagination. It isn’t just creativity, but a combination of teamwork, innovative thinking, and minds that reach beyond the bounds of possibility. Click here to return to Table of Contents Continued from Page 13 Click here to return to Table of Contents Arcadia Educational Foundation Website ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL Page 21 Click here to return to Table of Contents NEWSLETTER Page 22 ARCADIA HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER Contineud from Page 15 Florida Trip Click here to return to Table of Contents
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