Dear SPHS Families,

Transitions in the Counseling Office--

·      Ms. Marcile Vadell-Strickland will work with Ms. Cazares to make the transition seamless and will remain in the Department with a different focus.  In her new job she will be working to help close the achievement gap for both High School and Middle School students.  Her time will be divided between SPHS and SPMS and she will be providing interventions to students in need of additional academic, social or emotional support.  We know you will be great with your new challenge Ms. Vadell-Strickland!

·      Ms. Jenny Umhofer, our super volunteer, will return second semester to prepare sophomores and juniors for the college application process including researching colleges, starting on personal statements, and taking advantage of opportunities to make themselves more competitive applicants.  Thank you Ms. Umhofer!

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Thinking of taking AP Classes this Summer? 

Later this month and into March, teachers will be offering lunch time meetings to talk to students about what they can expect if they are interesting in taking Advanced Placement Classes this summer.  Workload, reading requirements and general class outlines will be discussed for specific subjects.  Make an informed decision about your choices in classes! For more information, drop by the Counseling Office.

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Counseling Calendar

February 1 & 2:  Sophomores take the CAHSEE ELA and Math

February 24:  Junior College Night

Also in February: Junior In-Class Presentations

March 10:  Freshmen Parent Night

Also in March: Programming for the next school year begins!

                      AP lunch meetings

April: Sophomore Counseling presentations

Lastly, we encourage you to use Family Connection on Naviance.  Please email us if you need assistance with accessing this essential web-based resourse!

-- Marylin Garcia-Peck, Maria Long, Marnie Dam, Olinda Cazares, Marcile Vadell-Strickland

Our Students are Writing Novels as Part of a Nationwide Event. Did we mention they do it in a month?
 

 As most SPHS students can attest, it's hard enough to find time to focus on studies, extracurricular activities and have a social life without adding the writing of a novel in 30 days for no credit and no financial reward.  Yet, the National November Writing Month is on the top of many of our student's to do list because the personal rewards are so great.

 NaNoWriMo is a yearly, national event for people who love to write. The goal is to write a 50,000-word novel in thirty days, from November 1^st to November 30^th. This is an event, not a competition; there is no prize waiting at the end for the people who write the best novel or write it the fastest. Instead, it exists as a way to give aspiring novelists, or creative writers, the freedom to release themselves from any expectations and just write.  "Winning" is completing the novel.

 Ms. Shires noticed that some of her AP Juniors were working on novels through the program -something she and her husband had already signed up to do.  So she brought in notebooks and special "NaNoWriMo" pens and wore her NaNoWriMo t-shirt during November and voila, like student, like teacher! "I was the one inspired by them," stated Ms. Shires. "I'm definitely getting something more organized for next year, but for now, it really is a testament to the self-initiative and go-for-it attitude of our South Pasadena kids!" she added.

Senior Daniel Buchen has been involved with the program since his sophomore year.  "When you're writing a novel in thirty days, you don't have time to worry about the quality. Instead, writers must simply write, and in the following paragraphs and chapters created, they will most likely find both piles of dirt and pieces of gold," Buchen stated.  "When November 1^st came around, we were all waiting at our computers, ready to start our books. That first year, the only other people who I knew who participated were the ten friends doing NaNo with me. However, I have now learned that NaNoWriMo is attempted by at least thirty students at SPHS every year, including some teachers as well! Students from all walks of life have participated: from guys who love sports to girls who love makeup. We are all connected through NaNo". Junior Makenna Sidle considers herself a "winner" even without an official award.   Completing a 50,000 word novel this past November was a great a prize as she could want.  Approximately 15-20 students from all grade levels wrote novels this year through the program.

Get more info on NaNoWriMo or contact Ms. Shires and get ready to write!

Spotlight On Finance Class

The thrust of an ROP class is always to learn valuable, marketable skills and to learn about the jobs within the industry.  One subject that graduating high school students greatly benefit from taking before going off to college or the workplace is Finance! Students learn accounting principles, fundamentals of investing (including real estate, stocks/bonds/mutual funds) and job acquisition within the dynamic financial career field.      
 

Last year's one of SPHS's Finance students, Kevin Yin, became ROP Student of the Year Silver Medalist at the County Level.  Kevin had this to say about his experience in the class and in the County competition, "Knowing that my interest is in business, I chose to experiment with Finance.  Taking that class and being nominated to participate in the Student of the Year competition gave me something more than strictly academic instruction; it helped me develop essential career skills that academic courses could not offer, such as preparing for resumes and interviews."  This year's Student of the Year competition preparation is currently underway.

The teacher, Liana Gunakan has taught Accounting and Finance classes at SPHS for five+ years, and has been concurrently teaching at Alhambra High School where she has taught for nearly 20 years.  Mrs. Gunakan has an MBA in Finance and also has years of business experience.   She recently received a Certificate of Excellence in Innovation given by Deloitte (one of the big four accounting firms).   

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Spotlight on Virtual Business  

 Coast, the Varsity Virtual Business team selling stylish bicycles, Canopy, the JV Virtual Business team selling fun animal hats, and Scenic, the JV team selling beautiful wall decals sowed hard and reaped rewards at the Bakersfield Virtual Business State Competition that took place in early December with 108 teams present.  When all was said and done, Canopy placed 2^nd in the State and Coast took home a 5^th and both teams were invited to compete in NYC-a huge feat considering only 15 teams are invited to the National Competition.  While Scenic was not one of the final 15, it did earn many awards as well. 

Virtual Business Teacher Cathy Mason was over the moon with the results. "For the First time in the history of the competition, one school placed two teams in the Finals," she stated. "This was South Pasadena! They've never had any school present more than 1 team-we presented 3!  All 3 teams made it to the Semi-Finals too!"

March's PTSA Forum will feature the presentations of the two teams heading to New York City for the National Competition, Coast and Canopy.  Come see these impressive teams in action!  The program takes place on Monday, March 28^th from 6:30-7:30pm in the SPHS Library and is free and open to all!

Parents Alice Fong and Chris Kohler are not big on self promotion.  They do not seek out positions of power, but rather behind-the-scenes jobs, and are not comfortable in the limelight.  They see what they do as no big deal; they are just simply answering the call to help our schools when they are needed.  And whatever is asked of them, they do exceptionally well.

Alice has two boys: Spencer who is a freshman at U of Oregon and went through our school district and Nick who is a sophomore at SPHS.  They've been in South Pasadena for 10 years and Alice has volunteered her time on boards of several PTAs, SPEF, Friends of the Library, Bingo Boosters, Boys Scouts as well as working part time for SPUSD.  "I really enjoy supporting my kids and their schools.  I feel it's important to be involved in all aspects of their lives," Alice says.

Chris also has two boys: Kevin, who is a freshman at UCSD and Sean who is a freshman at SPHS.  They have been in the district for 7 years and like her partner in crime, she has helped by serving in many positions to support our schools.  Chris has lent her accounting skills to the PTA at all levels and the PTA Council where she has continually served as treasurer/auditor.  She does her volunteer work in addition to a full time job at her family business in Little Tokyo. Chris feels that PTA is "the best place to be if you want to know what's going on in your child's school as well as in the community."

Both women have taken on chairing the SPHS PTSA Paper Drive to supply copy paper to the High School.  You will probably hear a lot about the Paper Drive in the next month as their campaign gets underway but probably not much about these super volunteers.  Thank you Chris and Alice for making our School and District a better place to be!

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Teacher Elsa Laron grew up in Costa Rica and her education included 3 years of medical school. She continued her studies at UCLA and Azusa Pacific and earned multiple credentials including Spanish. Ms. Laron is new to teaching Spanish Language at SPHS, but she is not new to teaching.  Ms. Laron has taught at all 3 school levels, elementary, intermediate (in Texas) and High School (in Arcadia) and has taught Spanish Language as well as Spanish literature. Her husband was a school psychologist and a school counselor for more than a dozen years and is now a family law attorney. She has 3 children, a daughter who is currently attending UCSB, a son who is a freshman at SPHS and a son at Monterey Hills. "I love teaching Spanish because I relate to the stories in the book from my personal experience," MsLaron stated. How is she finding teaching at SPHS?  "I love the diversity of the student body and the enthusiasm of the students in my classes."

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Student Anmi Zheng came to South Pasadena several years ago and like many SPHS student, plays sports (Swimming and Golf), works hard (AP Classes included) and even started up a club: The Japanese Culture Club.  She is grateful to everyone who helped her during her early days in South Pasadena and as a way to give back, has created a niche for her club that supports students who could use academic help. Her tutoring program meets from 2pm-4pm each day (1 hour in Mr. Groves' class room and then 1 hour in the Library) helping SPHS students in ALL subjects for free.  Word has spread and now she and her club members tutor between 15-20 regular students each day.  Ms. Wiedermann is the Club Advisor and Mr. Groves' is the supervising teacher. "I am impressed with the hard work of both the tutors and the tutees. I haven't seen a subject yet that someone didn't know," stated Mr. Groves.  Anmi started The Japanese Culture Club in her freshman year and added the tutoring program in her sophomore year.  She hopes that her club has started a tradition that can last for many years to come.

Take out your calendars.  Here are events you won't want to miss:

February 4th - 6th: 5th GRADE MUSICAL Mulan and Monkey Magic will be performed this Friday through Sunday at the High School Auditorium.  You don't need to have a 5th grader to appreciate this incredible production.

April 21st: SUMMER SCHOOL LIVE REGISTRATION for Juniors and Seniors.

April 27th: SUMMER SCHOOL LIVE REGISTRATION for Freshman and Sophomores.

June 4th: PARTI GRAS 2011 Auction items needed-any gift cards, vacation condos, homes or timeshares, concert or sports tickets, dinner parties, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

June 22nd-July 27th: HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER SCHOOL 

For information about how to buy tickets, register students, donate auction items or anything else SPEF-related, please go to SPEF or call (626) 441-5810 x 1164.

Scholarships and Chinese Language Awards for Seniors

The South Pasadena Chinese-American Club announced that it is accepting applications for scholarships and Chinese-language awards to be given to seniors graduating from South Pasadena High School (SPHS) in June 2011.

The Club will award two scholarships of $2,000 each to qualifying (SPHS) graduating students planning to attend an accredited four-year college or university. These scholarships were established in memory of Dr. Karl Hwang, a former SPCC President. Dr. Hwang was one of the world's foremost research scientists in the discipline of clinical pharmacology.

Applicants will be considered on his or her demonstrated leadership qualities, community involvement, academic achievement and on an essay about his/her personal goals, challenges that he/she faced and why he/she deserve the scholarship.

Two  "Most Improved Student in Chinese Language" awards of $500 each will be given to chosen seniors in the SPHS Chinese-language classes.  SPCC encourages the learning of Chinese language and culture. Selection criteria will be based on degree of effort in learning the language as observed by their teachers over the course of his/her study and participation in activities that promote Chinese culture.

SPCC urges students from all cultures and backgrounds to apply.  All applications must be submitted to Ms. Gill (Karl Hwang Scholarship) and Mrs. Chiang (Chinese-Language Award) by May 10, 2011.

Applications can be downloaded from SPCC website

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Grants: Calling all teachers!

SPCC, is a local club with a big heart.  With the goal of supporting the community and specifically South Pasadena Public Schools, they provide grants for educators with a specific project in mind.  The grants are awarded each calendar year and this past year, SPCC awarded the High School alone more than $3000 in grants. SPCC members provide community service, build cultural awareness through programs such as the extremely popular Moon Festival, sponsor library events, and award grants.  Don't miss out-the grants can be in any subject so long as they improve class curriculum.  Need an application? Grant applications can be downloaded from the SPCC website.  

Baseball, Parrots and Margaret Collier Graham To Take Center Stage In Library Community Room