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Upcoming Events:
MON. (3/3) Teaching & Learning Abound!
TUES. (3/4) Sophomore College Info Night, 7pm @ PAC
WED. (3/5) LATE START WEDNESDAY, 1st Period @ 8:37am For Students
STAFF MEETING IN ROOM 500 @ 7:30am For Everyone!!!
INTERACT WEEK OF HOPE TO RAISE $$$ FOR SOUTH SUDAN
Pie-Eating Contest Behind PAC @ Lunch :)
THUR. (3/6) ALL DISTRICT CHORAL FESTIVAL
(6:30pm @ Cottonwood)
Come see singers from all campuses
perform at this year's show!
INTERACT WEEK OF HOPE CONT'D. Pie-Throwing Contest Behind PAC @ Lunch... All your favorite teachers will
be there to have pies thrown at them!
Take advantage of this opportunity :)
FRI. (3/7) LOSAL4LIFE Lunchtime Raffle, In Front Of PAC @ Lunch
Check your name and entry come spin the wheel for FREE prizes!
INTERACT WEEK OF HOPE CONTINUES...
Talent Show Begins @ 7pm In PAC
ATHLETICS: Kenady Beaudoin, Los Al's First-Ever Female Wrestling Captain, just placed 5th In The State Tournament This Weekend! Teammate Dickie Brown went 2-2 and placed in the Top 16 in the Master's Tournament!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hockey still competes with the JV Squad in the Semi-Finals at Anaheim Ice @ 6:45pm this Tuesday. Championships this Saturday @ Honda Center if they win!
With Spring Sports now in full swing, come out  and support your Griffins as they battle for CIF Championships across the county. And since we're talking Spring sports... Did you know Los Al is ranked in the Top 2 in two separate preseason polls for Baseball and Boys Tennis? Click here to see the county's Baseball rankings, and here to check out the county's Boys Tennis rankings. Any way you slice it, the 2014 schedule of athletic competitions this Spring is sure to produce some memorable outings to round out the year!
& On The Horizon...
3/11 --- Driver's Ed Night In PAC, Presented By PTSA
3/13 --- Instructional Networking, Observe Dave Barker's Birthday Lesson...
3/14 --- iHeartLosAl PTSA Fundraiser @ Glory Days in Seal Beach
3/20 --- Thinking Maps Training
.............. Unlimited Possibilities!
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Slight Changes To Los Al's Bell Schedule & Calendar...
Be Sure To Read This Article & Download Our New Common Core Testing Schedule For 2013-2014
As we move closer to implementing our nation's Common Core State Standards in 2014, Los Alamitos High School will be adapting our Spring Testing Calendar to correspond with new state assessments that will be taken exclusively online.
Beginning in March, we will change 6 Late Start Wednesdays for the remainder of the year to allow Juniors to take the Smarter Balanced Field Test (that's the name of the Common Core testing module) on April 9-10 and April 23-24. This test will ONLY be administered to Juniors in the state of California; and our school will be using chromebooks for students to access the examination website and take this inaugural assessment.
Campus will be open as usual on April 9-10 and April 23-24 for parents of non-test-takers who need to drop their children off early, and Campus Supervisors will be available to ensure the safety of all students for the entirety of the Late Start. Testing areas, however, like the Media Center and most classrooms, will be not be available for use as Juniors will be taking the Smarter Balanced Field Test on these days in the morning.
By clicking the picture of the new Testing Schedule above, you'll find the adapted Late Start Wednesday Calendar for all students. This information will also be sent to Los Al families electronically by email, and we recommend downloading and saving this document as a PDF file for ongoing reference.
We're excited to be a part of such an important shift in education for all of our Griffins. And if you haven't done so already, please visit www.corestandards.org , or check out our school's "Common Core Whiteboard Video" for a look at how we're preparing each and every one of our Griffins for college and career opportunities in the 21st Century.
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Stanford @ Los Al:
Cardinal Professor James Campbell Visits Campus To Work With Griffin Students & Teachers Alike
Los Al Social Science teachers gather around Professor James Campbell during lunch in Conference Room A. His insights on teaching History were invaluable!
About 300 students on Friday had the opportunity to not-so-vicariously take a Stanford History Course in Civil Rights from the comfort of Room 153/154.
Feedback from students indicated that many of them had never experienced the kind of depth of knowledge that Professor Campbell displayed. He was able to answer any question on the Civil Rights movement so quickly and robustly, and he seemed to know every nuance of the events and people that eventually changed the landscape of American culture forevermore.
For teachers, Professor Campbell provided us a clear link to the expectations and needs of University professors in regards to the level of preparation for their students. Aligned with Common Core, Professor Campbell noted the importance of students being able to "think like a historian" over rote memorization of dates and events.
This is great insight for ALL teachers, as we're shifting the focus of instruction to enhance transferable academic skills that help students for the entirety of their studies.
A big thank you to Mark Celestin for creating and organizing this event for our Social Science teachers! Hosting and engaging with Professor Campbell was a professional highlight for many of our teachers, and we are grateful our students got to experience this one-of-a-kind opportunity :)
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Teachers Wear Cool Shirts:
If You Don't Know Already, There's A Sub-Culture Of Cool Shirt-Wearing That Comes With Being A Teacher...
In this photograph, Mr. Eisenber (Physics Teacher) instrcts his class while wearing an "Escape Velocity" shirt... P.S. His class just learned the concept of Escape Velocity the day before...
One of the best parts about being a teacher is the ability to find, buy, and wear shirts that would otherwise be questionable for anyone outside of the profession to own. (For example, how many Periodic Element shirts have you seen people wearing down on Main in Seal Beach?) For teachers, adding to this part of our wardrobe and showing off our threads to students and colleagues is one of the great joys we get to participate in. And at Los Al, we do it often :)
 And, when we're not raiding the fictional closets of the likes of Sheldon Cooper (of CBS' The Big Bang Theory), teachers at Los Al, and all schools across the country, as donning their walls and learning spaces with quirky demonstrations of the love the have for the subject matter they teach. (Just check out this periodic table arrangement from Ms. Helm's room... Self-explanatory!)
So, the next time you're looking to give a colleague a gift, or you want to drop a hint to students and families looking to show their appreciation for your teaching efforts during the Holidays, make sure you think about adding to that magical part of your wardrobe you keep separate in your closet.
Having the coolest, weirdest, hard-to-find shirt is part-and-parcel of the high school teaching experience... And who knows, maybe we'll even have a "Best Content Area Shirt Contest" before the year is up?
Now that would be fun!
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As 9th, 10th, and 11th graders choose classes and look towards graduation, don't forget to chart your high school career using Los Al's GRIFFIN PLAN as a tool for visually organizing your future :)
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Get The Same Course Test Prep Companies Charge $2,000 For (Donations Appreciated)
Dear Parents Of The Class Of 2015:
Welcome to the OFFICIAL KICK-OFF of the College Application Season! For the next 8 months, your child will become immersed in the world of online applications, college personal statements, University visits, tons of recruitment mail and, of course, SAT Exams.
To assist our Griffins in the college application process, we will be offering an SAT Prep Program geared specifically for Juniors planning on taking the May 3rd SAT Exam. (Typically, Juniors take their SATs for the first time in May, then SAT Subject Exams in June, and then SATs again in the Fall of their Senior Year.)
To sign up for the course, please click the image of the SAT BOOK above, and print out and turn in the included PDF. Remember to follow all instructions...
This preparatory class WILL RAISE your child's score, and provide your student with the same exact strategies that leading SAT Prep companies charge over $2,000 for. And the best part is... we're only asking for a $90 donation to cover the up-front cost of facilities and materials!
The program will be filled up on a first-come, first-served basis. And class meets most Saturday mornings in Room 153/154, from 9am - Noon until the day of the test on May 3, 2014.
If this sounds like something you may be interested in for your child, follow-up with your Junior this week as presentations will be made in English classes, and directions on how to sign up will be given at that time.
Please, DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MONDAY MORNING MEMO with questions... Shelley Riekenberg, our College & Career counselor, will be the point of contact for all inquiries. Her email address is sriekenberg@losal.org.
BELOW IS A COPY OF THE SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
Saturday, March 15, 2014 -------------------- 9:00am - 12:00pm @ Room 153/154
(Introduction & Math Diagnostic)
Saturday, March 22, 2014 -------------------- 9:00am - 12:00pm @ Room 153/154
(Math & Verbal Tutorial)
Saturday, April 5, 2014 ------------------------- 9:00am - 12:00pm @ Room 153/154
(Verbal & Writing Tutorial)
Saturday, April 12 2014 ------------------------ 9:00am - 12:00pm @ Room 153/154
(Writing & Math Tutorial)
Saturday, April 26, 2014 ----------------------- 9:00am - 12:00pm @ Room 153/154
(Math & Verbal Tutorial)
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Melissa Miller, Assistant Principal Of Athletics & Activities, Is Orange County's Co-Administrator Of The Year!!!!
Ms. Miller (center, wearing a black suit) poses for a picture with her family and Administrative Teammates during last week's Board Meeting at the District Office.
Los Al's very own Assistant Principal, Melissa Miller, has been named 2014 Orange County Co-Administrator of the Year by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), Region 17. ACSA annually recognizes outstanding administrators for the their leadership skills, professionalism, creativity, innovation, and commitment to quality education.
The 41st annual ACSA "Administrators of the Year and Friends of Education Awards" Dinner will be held on Monday, May 12, 2014.
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If You Missed The 41st Annual Class Notes Concert This Weekend, Here's A Clip...
Jazz teacher, John Rush, leads a group of Jazz students to kick off Los Al's performance during the 41st Annual Class Notes Concert this weekend...
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THE BIGGEST FUNDRAISER OF THE YEAR IS COMING!
Click HERE to buy your tickets to the iHeartLosAl
PTSA Fundraiser taking place Friday, March 14th at
Glory Days Beachside Grill from 7pm - 11pm.
We've rented out the entire restaurant, so it'll be just #losal friends, families, and supporters coming out on a Friday
night to support our Griffins... Can't wait to see you there!
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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