Monday, April 3rd, 2016
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 This Week At Los Al...
Access the Los Al Calendar
Monday
  • Griffin Games Begin!
  • Dress Up Day: "Represent Your Country" Wear Los Al Gear 
Tuesday
  • Dress Up Day: "Tour the Olympic Village" Tacky Tourist
  • Swim Co-Ed vs Fountain Valley (3:15pm) 
  • Tennis vs Fountain Valley (3:15p)
  • Volleyball vs Fountain Valley (5:45p)
  • Girls Lacrosse vs Santa Margarita (6:00p)
Wednesday
  • Dress Up Day: "Outsmart Your Competition" College Gear
  • Track & Field vs Newport Harbor (3:00p)
  • Los Al Live Improv Show (3:30p)
  • Baseball vs Huntington Beach (3:15p)
  • Boys Lacrosse@Huntington Beach (6:00p)
  • Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee (6:30p)
Thursday
  • Dress Up Day: "Training Day" Workout Gear
  • Boys Tennis at Newport Harbor (3:00p)
  • Dive vs Fountain Valley (3:00p)
Friday
 
  • Dress Up Day: "Wear Your Team" Red or Blue
  • Spring Sports/Griffin Games Assembly
  • Boys Volleyball vs Newport Harbor (5:45p)
  • Boys Lacrosse vs Marina (6:00p)
  • Baseball at Marina (3:15p)
  • Track & Field Arcadia Invitational (3:00p)
  • Sadie's Dance (7:30p)
Saturday
  • Track & Field Arcadia Invitational (8:00a)
  • Saturday School (8:00a) 
  • Baseball at J Serra 11:00a)
  

What a Spring Break! Firsts, Repeats, Three-peats, and More!

While most schools see Spring Break as a time off from school and a time to relax, several Los Al Griffins were soaring to new heights. Simply put, vacation or not, our students consistently strive to be the best in all they pursue and they do it at all times. 
 
As we enter the final two and a half months of school-yes, only 2 � months-it is important to reflect upon just how important all Four A's are to our students and school. We not only provide opportunities for our students to receive a world-class education, compete on top-notch teams, give professional performances, and explore the things they love, we also support them as they excel in these areas.
 
This past week saw all Four A's highlighted with new records, several firsts, and some terrific honors. I am excited to see what the rest of the year has in store. I hope you enjoy the stories, ideas, and achievements of this past week as much as I have. Our students have truly shown their Griffin Pride.
 
By the way, it may get a little Red and Blue this week. There's a thing called the Griffin Games going on this week.

Show Choir Three-peat for SoundFX and Soundtrax at Nationals in Nashville

For the third year in a row, Los Alamitos High School's Advanced Women's and Advanced Mixed choirs have won national grand championships. Soundtrax and SoundFX's latest victories happened this past weekend on stage at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville where both competed against choirs from throughout the United States.

Los Al's advanced women's group, Soundtrax, also earned awards for Best Vocals, Best Visuals and Best Soloist, Paris Robertson. SoundFX, Los Al's advanced mixed group, won awards for Best Visuals and Best Vocals. Jenna Rosen was named the competition's Best Female Soloist.
Both groups have about 60 performers each and were accompanied to Nashville by chaperones, technical crews, a live band and supporters, bringing the Los Al entourage to about 200 people on the trip who returned home to Southern California on Sunday evening.

"I'm extremely proud of how hard every single one of our students in both groups worked to get to this point. Their performances on stage at the Grand Ole Opry were spectacular and worthy of them being named national champions," said Choir Director David Moellenkamp.

Drama Scores Superior and Wins Scholarships at State Thespian Festival
 
This past weekend, 30 students from the Los Al Drama Department competed at the CA State Thespian Festival.  The International Thespian Society is the student theatre honor society that is part of the Educational Theatre Association and is an internationally recognized organization.
 
At the Thespian Festival, 62 schools were in attendance, and over 700 Individual Events (I.E.'s) were performed.
  
 
Our Group Acting team of Stephen Geller, Tara Virgil, and Kayla Wiggs not only received a superior for their scene, Poor Shem, but they also placed 2nd in the state for Group Acting.
 
Macy Boren received a $350 scholarship to study musical theatre this summer at South Coast Repertory.
 
Denise Chacanaca received the Ellis Jordan Scholarship, which pays for half of the cost for her to attend the International Thespian Festival in Nebraska this summer.
 
Three of our students: Jessie Winslow, Ahmad Ishqair, and Stephen Geller were chosen to perform in the opening number of the festival in front of almost 1300 people.
 
Eight of out students, including Cameron Alvarez, Michael Hietala, Nick Jurado, Cole Schneider, Kristi Gundhus, Ellie Sims, Alison Parsons, and Ashley Wallrich were chosen to participate in CA Playwrights, performing the works of playwright Jonathan Rand on the mainstage, who was in residence to work with the students during their rehearsal process.
 
Four of our theatre technicians were chosen to work on the All-State Show, a full production put on in 36 hours.  Joe Rios (Spotlight Operator), Erin Henkhaus (Scenic/Paint Crew), Angelica Alvarez (Assistant Stage Manager) and Olivia (Rose) Elvidge (Assistant Stage Manager) were on the All-State tech crew, and Joe, Erin, and Angelica received special commendation for their work.
 
Out of over 700 IE's, Los Alamitos received 13 Superior Rankings, enabling those events to be performed at the International Thespian Festival in Nebraska in June, where our students will perform, audition for over 60 college programs, and see 9-12 full length shows.


Los Al Robotics Wins in First Competition and Qualify for Nationals

Los Al Robotics Team Wins in First Ever Competition
 
If you don't know anything about robotics, here is what it is not: a remote control derby. Robotics competitions involve design, creativity, cooperation, communication, collaboration, and engineering.  And that is just the beginning. Students must also understand the fundamentals of computer coding and must be able to think quickly as they prepare for spur of the moment challenges.
 
Such was the case for the rookie Los Al Robotics team led by engineering teacher Martin Valenzuela.
 
The competition was a regional competition hosted by First Robotics Competition, which is like the CIF of high school robotics.  The event was held over three days at Valencia High School in Placentia, CA and included 42. Each team completed 12 rounds. The Finals involve the lead teams picking two other teams to "ally" with and then the alliances compete three versus three. Each round of finals (quarter/semi/final) is a best of three games series. Robots compete to score points on the "stronghold" battlefield (think medieval theme).

The Los Al team was selected to form an alliance by Code Orange, the #1 ranked team, along with Servite High School's Friarbots team. Students from both teams said about Los Al, "We were impressed by how well they (Los Al) worked with other teams during the qualification rounds." They could tell we would collaborate and cooperate on the best strategy for everyone. They also were very impressed by the skills of our driver, Andrew Stumpf.


Comedy Improv Wins at State for Championship. First School in State History to Repeat
 
The Improv Team competed in the California State Thespian Festival this past weekend. The team, who placed 1st last year, was made up of returning member Ellie Sims, and joined by Hasti Bakian, Kristi Gundhus, Shelby Marsh, and Tara Virgil. For the first time in festival history, the Los Al Improv team placed 1st in the State of CA for the second year in a row. Congratulations to Coach Dave Barker and the students for your Repeat Championship!

Eyassu Worku and Coach Eddie Courtemarche Named the OC Varsity Player and Coach of the Year

Hard work. Effort. Leadership. Talent. These are the key ingredients needed for making a champion. This season saw the UC Irvine bound senior, Eyassu Worku break several Los Al records, lead his team to the Sunset League title and strong CIF playoff runs in the Southern Section Open and State Tournament divisions. Click here to read the full OC Varsity article. 

Coach Eddie Courtemarche led the Griffins to a 25 win season, an undefeated Sunset League campaign, and coached the team through one of the greatest come back wins in school history against Santa Margarita during the CIF State Playoffs. Click here to read the full OC Varsity article. 

LAHS String Orchestra: Excellent! Superior!

"Superior" and "Excellent" ratings were awarded to the LAHS String Orchestra after their March 22rd performance at the Redondo Union High School Orchestra Festival. Festivals are not competitions; however, groups are required to play pieces that differ in style and difficulty. The group played Hungarian Dance #5 by Johannes Brahms and selections from St. Paul's Suite by Gustav Holtz.

After performing, they were given just a few minutes to sight-read and play a piece they have never before seen. Adjudicators provided performance feedback and overall ratings were awarded. The LAHS String Orchestra's "superior" and "excellent" ratings for performance and sight reading are among the highest granted at a festival, and according to Director Robert Harrell, they were well-deserved. Congratulations to our dedicated and talented Griffin string musicians for representing LAHS in the arts! 

Griffin Games Begins! 

This week, the school is literally split in half. Freshman and Seniors are on the RED TEAM. Sophomores and Juniors are on the BLUE TEAM. Teachers and Staff are split evenly between the RED and BLUE teams. 

Teams will earn points through a variety of competitions including a canned food drive, social media and hashtag competitions, dress up days (see Calendar), and a range of lunch time activities. 

The week will culminate in an all-school assembly on the track this Friday.  Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for Griffin Games updates! May the best Griffins win!


Los Alamitos High School | 3591 Cerritos Ave | Los Alamitos | CA | 90720