It is November.  Those leaves that aren't remaining a bright Southern California green are turning red and orange and falling to the ground on these surprisingly windy days.  The academic quarter has changed from first to second.  Students are walking the campus dressed as wizards-in-training from SPHS' alter-ego school, Hogwarts.  With Wednesday's Homecoming, we transition from fall sports to winter sports.  As we approach Thanksgiving, one thing that remains constant is our gratitude for our school and community.

We give thanks...

to Paul Groves, the SP Teacher of the Year, for his dedicated service to young people, the community, and his fellow professionals.  At the time of our last Tiger Paws update, Paul had been selected as one of the top Los Angeles County Teachers of the Year.  I am proud to share that Paul was one of approximately a dozen teachers, statewide, who earned a site visit and then one of only eight who earned an interview with the Deputy State Superintendent of Education in Sacramento!  While Paul was ultimately not named State Teacher of the Year, the accolades he did receive are amazing, and we are so pleased that he has been recognized as one of the premier educators in California.

to Ann Messana, Wish Night Chair, and all of you thoughtful contributors who made our teachers' wishes for instructional materials come true!

to the SP Chinese American Club for generously approving our grant for five document cameras for teachers to use in their instruction.

for the smooth transition to our new Late Start schedule that has students arriving at 9:15 instead of 9:20 on Late Start days.

to Mr. Leif Andersen, our new Physics teacher, for stepping in after the beginning of the year to fill our two-period vacancy.  Mr. Andersen is a veteran teacher who also teaches at Cal State L.A. 

for the early decision to reinstate furlough days so we have our full number of school days, and for our ability to notify the community already about the change in our graduation schedule from Wednesday, June 15, to Friday, June 17.  Please see the updated calendar on our website (sphstigers.org).

for the parents, students, and staff who have dedicated many hours to a detailed examination of our practices, achievements, and growth areas for our WASC accreditation self-study.  Our Professional Development Day on November 12^th is dedicated to more review and refinement of our self-study as we prepare for our WASC Visiting Committee's feedback in late February/early March.

         to students such as senior Sean Wang who is a Regional Finalist in the 2010 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology for his research predicting liver cancer.  Nominated by Science teacher Don Wielenga for a summer internship at City of Hope, Sean represented SPHS amazingly well!

         to our varsity Small Business team that presented all aspects of running a business, from top to bottom, to special education students at the California Endowment Center, earning the raves of adults in attendance and the love and appreciation of the budding business students in their audience.

         to our varsity football team for bringing the perpetual plaque and Crowley Cup back to SP by beating San Marino, and to our fans for showing that, win or lose, SP demonstrates great sportsmanship.  Look for Mr. Punaro's Tiger Paws article for more stellar news from the athletic front.

         to our students/children for making us humble as we continue to navigate the pre-pubescent and teen years, this time from a different perspective!

There are so many people and things for which I am grateful, and I appreciate the opportunity to share a few of them.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and please remember that, as always, I can be reached with your questions and comments at janderson@fc.spusd.net

Dear SPHS Families,

This is the time of year that speeds past, with one holiday into the next, festivities, vacations, and time (hopefully) to reflect. While there is always plenty to complain about-state budget, bad economy, limited resources for public schools, rain on Color Day etc., there is so much for us at SPHS to be grateful for.  Here's my list of PTSA favorites so far:

• Timely, compelling forums for parents-In September, our teachers and administrators presented Everything you want to know about SPHS, an extremely informative panel discussion and then in October, parents got to hear a newsy Update from our Counselors and then got logged on the library's computers and learned how to use Naviance college and career planning software! Next up and not to be missed: Spotlight on our Drama Department under the direction (pun intended) of Daniel Enright including scenes from students at different grade levels! We have Linda D'Oro to thank for putting together such interesting programs.
• Lots of great things for your son's or daughter's classroom- 51 Wish Night Grants were awarded to the tune of more than $25K.  Thank you teachers for letting us know what you needed, families for answering the call and Ann Messana for taking this program from beginning to end and making it the success that it is.
• So many volunteers-Who ever thinks volunteerism ends at the middle school level hasn't been to SPHS! We appreciate all of our volunteers. Work Bingo, donate food, sit on a panel for Senior Projects, volunteer your talents, give us your ideas!
• Student Mini-Grants- With 80 student clubs-this is a no brainer! Laurie Astle is spearheading this successful program again this year and applications are almost due.  How could a club NOT need money? Let us help fund you!
• PTA Reflections Art Contest-A chance to compete on a national level with any number of forms of creative expression including filmmaking, drawing, dance, etc.  Thanks Joyce Sloss for organizing this exciting competition. The submissions are in so stay tuned for the results!
• PTSA Website is up, running and CURRENT and is on the home page (right sidebar).  Thanks to Monica Krieger for conceiving the design, Alan Shapiro for additional design work and for maintaining the site, and to Don Wielenga, the magician who made it appear on the SPHS website!  Please check back frequently for updates and do give us your feedback.

Please join us at our next meeting on Monday, November 29^th with general meeting including principal report from 6:30pm-7:30pm followed by our forum: Spotlight on the Drama Department with student performances from 7:30pm to 8:00pm. 

--Joan Aguado