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Upcoming Events:
MON. (1/27) PTSA Parent Education Night --- 7pm In The PAC:
How To Win Cooperation And Influence Your Teenager
In The Digital Age --- Presented By The Dale Carnegie Foundation
TUES. (1/28) COLLEGE NIGHT FOR JUNIORS... 7pm In PAC
Don't Forget... All Computer Labs Are Now Mobile!
We have 4 Chromebook Carts available for checkout through
losal.tandemcal.com. For optimal use, students should have
Gmail Accounts (professional sounding ones, at that), and you
should have gone to at least one training with Dan Bennett and/or
Trisha Callella.
Also, Trisha Callella is available Wednesdays and Fridays to help
you with any "Day 1" issues using Chromebooks in class. Dan
Bennett is available every day Periods 5 and 6.
WED. (1/29) LATE START WEDNESDAY, 1st Period @ 8:37am For Students
This day is slated for Common Core Collaboration as you wish...
THUR. (1/30) Winter Sports Assembly
Don't Forget, We're on an Assembly Bell Schedule this day!
COMMON CORE MATH COMMITTEE MEETING, 12pm @ D.O.
FRI. (1/31) MENTOR BREAKFAST, 7:30am In Gym
The College & Career Center puts on their Annual Mentor
Breakfast this morning connecting students to professionals
who are well-established in a career path of interest.
The Breakfast's Keynote Speaker is Adam Gubman ---
Songwriter and Composer Extraordinarie!
QUEEN OF COURTS B-BALL GAME vs. FOUNTAIN VALLEY
Come watch our Boys Varsity Squad (undefeated in League)
take on Fountain Valley at 7pm in the Gym. And don't miss the
halftime show when we'll crown this year's Queen Of Courts!
ATHLETICS: Have you been to a Wrestling match yet this year? Winter sports continues to compete in Sunset  League play this season with several sports poised to be League Champs! Hurry up and head out to a Girls Basketball, Girls Soccer, or Girls Water Polo game this week and support your fellow Griffin athletes as they take on competitors from other schools who simply don't know that
#LOSALROCKSATALLSPORTS.
& On The Horizon...
2/4 --- Dr. Kropp Visits Los Al For A Walkthrough
2/4 --- 8th Grade GATE Night, 7pm In PAC
2/5 --- Staff Meeting, 7am In Room 500
2/8 --- District Band & Orchestra Night, 2pm & 6pm In Gym
2/10 --- PTSA Meeting, 9am In Room 500
2/11 --- Leadership Council, 7am In Room 500
2/11 --- Community College Information Night, 7pm In PAC
.............. Unlimited Possibilities!
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Pursuit vs. Payoff:
In Preparation For Our February 5th Staff Meeting, Please Read The Following Essay And Answer The Google Form Survey Below... 
Click the picture above, or link here, to let us know where on the Pursuit vs. Payoff spectrum you lie...
In life, the ideas of PURSUIT and PAYOFF are inextricably connected. You can't have one without the other. But even though these two concepts go hand in hand, most human beings live their lives valuing one of these notions slightly more than other. So which is it?
Please read the following College Personal Statement I found laying around the office the other day. It was written last year by a Los Al grad in the Personal Statement class we offered last October, and it got me to thinking...
You tell us. Read the essay below and let us know where on the spectrum you lie by filling out a Google Form Survey. We'll use the data from these results to tailor our next Staff Meeting on February 5th.
P.S. Does it matter if she got into Stanford??? :)
I am Wonder Woman. No, I don't have super strength, or the ability to fly, or even a great pair of calves like the original female super-hero... I am Wonder Woman, simply, because I wonder a lot.
Why are ketchup packets so small? How much wasabi is wasted in the world? Why do men wear ties?
As I continue to wonder, I've begun to question how other people see the world. For answers, I've turned to Stella Farnum --- a friend of mine who lives in a world filtered through Down's Syndrome. Each lunchtime I see Stella, she greets me with a beaming smile and a friendly hug. This is the only consistency I get from her. After we greet, I do not know where our meal will go. Some days she is energetic and talkative. Other days she decides not to speak.
I try to engage Stella in different types of communication all the time, but often all I get from her is a very unhappy cry of a very drawn out "Nooooooooo..." I respect Stella's request not to be disturbed, but it is during these times when I particularly wonder who Stella really is.
Doctors say Down's Syndrome causes "mild to moderate intellectual impairment." Teachers say students like Stella have "special needs." Neither of these labels even begin to answer the questions that I have for her. I wonder so much about how she thinks and how she can change so considerably from day to day. How can Stella forgive and resent so easily? Why won't she let me further into her world?
Despite my pursuit of these questions, I have not once received an answer. And I now know that I do not always need answers to the questions I seek. All I need to know is that I look forward to these mysterious lunches.
Whether she knows it or not, Stella has shown me the importance of the pursuit rather than payoff.
PAYOFF. Like most of my friends, that's what I've pretty much been about most of my life. When my neighbor would ask me to watch her cats for a weekend, I would always say "yes." It's not that I enjoy waking up earlier than normal to open a can of wet cat food, or clean out a litter box. The truth is, I don't really like cats to begin with. But I like the financial independence to buy my own clothes, food, and gas. I take on tasks because of their perceived benefit. I work for payoff. Like most people, I care about what I'm getting back in return.
But not Stella. She lives for the sake of living.
PURSUIT. For the last year, I've been taking a beginning hip-hop dance class at an introductory ballet course. Me. The awkwardly tall girl, with a clumsy gait, and some serious eyewear. Every Tuesday, I suit up in my sweatpants, walk into the dance studio and chassé across the wooden floors with girls who are half my age and a third my height. On Tuesdays, I feel like Stella. I experience these two carefree hours each week with varying degrees of payoff (unless you count an unfortunate recital at the end of the year).
I'm never going to be a dancer just like I will never have those Wonder Woman calves. But when I shimmy in my hip-hop class, I know that this is how I want to live the rest of my life... like Stella.
I don't want futile results. I want a fulfilling pursuit.
I still have no real concept of how Stella truly lives her life. But I do know she has taught me to live mine in the moment. Stella does not care about the piece of paper with Andrew Jackson's face I receive every time I feed those nasty cats. She cares about those thrilling chassés in dance class. Stella cares about the process. And I do too. She has taught me how to embrace my questions, and how to wait patiently for the answers they bring. Or don't bring. It doesn't matter.
I know college will be an ongoing pursuit these next 4 years --- a place where I can wonder freely. And while I still don't understand why there is a 2 to 1 ratio of French Fries to ketchup packets in every fast-food bag, or how much wasabi humans waste with their sushi, I do know that Stanford University is my next pursuit whether I attend classes there next Fall or not.
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LAEF Is Offering Two New Classes At The High School:
Sign Up For DRIVER'S ED Or COLLEGE ESSAY PREP Soon Before They Fill Up!
Driver's Education Kanor Driving School will be on campus to teach a 25 hour course consisting of video interaction, instructor lectures, quizzes, and driving simulators. This Driver's Ed program is approved by the DMV to comply with California Requirements to obtain an instructional permit. **Students must be 15.5 years of age.** Mondays & Wednesdays, 2:45pm-5:15pm (February 24- March 26) OR Saturdays, 9:00am-4:00pm (March 1- March 22) $110
Preparing for the College Essay
This five week course will guide students through writing an effective college essay. Students will learn the revision process as well as have a polished essay ready to submit to Colleges at the end of the class.
Wednesdays, 4:00pm-6:00pm (February 26- March 26)
$155
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Welcome To Los Al!
After a rigorous selection process that included hundreds of candidates, Ms. Snyder, Ms. Armstrong, Ms. Lyman, and Ms. Awad are pleased to start 2nd Semester as part of the Griffin Family!
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Don't Miss The Parent Workshop This Monday Night Presented By PTSA:
How To Win Cooperation And Influence Your Teenager In The Digital Age
As part of a series of Parent Education Nights, PTSA has arranged for speakers from the Dale Carnegie Training Institute to come to Los Al for a night of important information for parents of any high school-aged student.
Running from 7pm - 8:30pm in the PAC on campus, this workshop is tailored exclusively for PARENTS, so students are asked not to attend the event...
We look forward to seeing many of you this Monday Night. And we're thankful for the efforts of our parent community in organizing such a meaningful and relevant educational opportunity.
*** PTSA is raffling off one KINDLE FIRE HD for those in attendance***
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From A Student's Perspective:
The Way Teachers Move, Dress, Gesture, And Walk Speak Louder Than Almost Anything They Say...
Take a look at Ms. Rofe in the midst of delivering an important instruction to her class ahead of FINALS Week. She is passionate about her subject and her students, and you can tell that before she ever opens her mouth...
A picture is worth a thousand words... so let's try and analyze how we can tell that the photo above displays a caring teacher and her engaged students:
- LOOK AT HER LEFT SHOULDER. See how it leans down? See how her body is not even, and her right hand is extended in the midst of movement? This teacher is full of energy, and the fact that this photo captures her off-balance and slightly-off center is proof that she's focused and committed to the message she's delivering.
- LOOK AT HER STUDENTS' HEADS. See how they're all up and focused on her? See how the girl in the front row, to the left, is even leaning her head to the side so she can get a look at her teacher head-on? These students are entirely engaged at this point of instruction. Keep in mind, the teacher isn't even looking in their direction at this moment --- so the students could easily get away with being off task... but they don't. They stay enamoured.
- LOOK AT THE STICKER ON THE FILE CABINET. See the school colors it displays? Can you feel the commitment to Los Al this teacher dons proudly whenever her students eyes wonder just beyond her? In fact, Los Al colors and messages pervade Ms. Rofe's classroom, and students know that her commitments are to their education, their school, and their futures all in equal order.
Teachers don't have to talk in order for students to know how dedicated or effective they are. From a student's perspective, there's tons of other data that prove a teacher cares about them without ever saying a word.
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Los Al S.W.A.G. Beanies Are Now On Sale!
Pick One Up For $15 In The Activities Office Before School, During Lunch, Or After 6th Period :)
From now on, if you need a picture from any of these
Monday Morning Memos, Just find us on FLICKR
The pics there are high quality, easy to access,
and always downloadable.
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Los Alamitos High School
3591 Cerritos Ave.
Los Alamitos, CA 90720
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