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Sequoia Sentinel
March 23, 2015
Sequoia PTSA's weekly eNewsletter in partnership with the Sequoia High School Education Foundation
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Principal's Message: Measure A Update
I am happy to report that Phase I of the Measure A construction is progressing on pace to have the new classrooms open for students by the 2016-17 academic year. Plans for the new construction were approved by the SUHSD Board of Trustees last Wednesday before submittal to the California Division of the State Architect. Approval from DSA means a green light to open the job for bids and begin construction.
Below are drawings from last week's board presentation:
 
The building committee, with representation from parents, students, coaches, teachers, administration, the plant manager, and district staff, have met regularly over the past several months to set priorities for subsequent phases of construction on Sequoia's campus. Much of this work consists of long-overdue capital repairs. Other priorities include improvements to music and performing arts facilities, increases in available athletic fields, new parking, and improvements to existing athletic fields such as new field lights and equipment storage. Renovation is already underway for converting the room previously used for the foods class into a large, flexible-use classroom. Plans for a state-of-the-art culinary arts classroom in the space currently used to serve lunch are being drawn. Construction on that project will begin in the next few months, as well. The process has been exciting up to this point. I feel fortunate to work with passionate stakeholders deeply dedicated to what is best for kids. I look forward to updating you further on progress and being a part of these historic changes. Have a great week. Sean
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Sequoia Shout-out 
...to the members of the mini-grant committee who used discernment in awarding more than $4,000 to clubs and teachers in the spring round of mini-grants. Thank you to Lisa Prosch, Sheryl Munoz Bergman, Sian Davies, Julia Horak, Jayne Sungail, and Lisa Waddell.
Mini-grant Chair Lisa Prosch would like to give a special shout out to those who helped with the transition this year: Lisa Hane, Betsy Parkhurst, Gayle Hoch, Rebecca Flynn, Herman Epelman, and Alice Henderson.
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Did You Know? 
Sequoia students did very well in the recent American Mathematics Competitions (AMC). For more than 60 years, students across the country have taken up the Mathematical Association of America's challenge, making the AMC our nation's longest-running and most prestigious math contest. Every year, at thousands of schools in every state, more than 350,000 students tackle this challenging set of questions.
The results are in from the 2015 grueling test: the top three AMC 12 scorers at Sequoia are Dominic Tanzillo and Eamonn Carson with a score of 87, and in first place, Arthur Hardy with a score of 91.5. For the AMC 10 (9th and 10th graders), 3rd place was Brendan Snyder with a score of 94.5, 2nd place was Clara MacAvoy with 97.5, and in 1st place with an astonishing 126 points was Sam Pedley. Congratulations to them all!
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2015-16 Sequoia Course Guide
Have you seen the newest Sequoia Program Planning guide? You can find it online here: www.sequoiahs.org/+uploaded/file_3648.pdf. It is for students and parent to review when choosing classes, and it is very informative. Freshman parents in particular will want to check it out between now and April 16th.
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Lend a Hand 
We could use your help with two upcoming recognition events:
- In April, we need a parent to coordinate the Academic Awards Reception. This should take a maximum of 6 hours to plan and execute. We fund the party and have volunteers to help, we just need a point person.
- In May, we need a parent to coordinate the Staff Awards, which is held in conjunction with the Staff Appreciation luncheon during the last week of school. If you like our staff and want to help show them, please consider being on this team. This should take a maximum of 5 hours to plan and execute.
Please email Alice if you are interested.
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Special Staff Appreciation Event 
We are putting the final touches on our coffee cart/breakfast for the staff this Friday and are still in need of a few more items.
If you can donate fruit, hard-boiled eggs, bagels, or yogurt, please click here to sign up. The teachers look forward to this treat after Open House!
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Sequoia's International Festival is fast approaching and we need your support. April 11th 2-6:30
- Attend this fun, student-led event, and invite your friends, family, and neighbors, too. This event will highlight the talents of Sequoia's students! You can see wonderful acts performing on stage, an art exhibit, and so much more.
- Sign up to work a shift. Be sure to enjoy the food truck offerings and live music before/after your stint. VolunteerSpot link
- Donate a case or two of beverages. The proceeds from drink sales will offset the overhead of the event. (Any leftovers will be used next month for the Staff Appreciation luncheon). VolunteerSpot link
- We are still looking for small businesses who are willing to sponsor this spectacular community event! All sponsors of more than $100 will receive their names in our program; sponsors who donate $250 or more will receive their logo in the program, as well as space for signage on our main stage. If you're interested, please email shsinternationalfestival@gmail.com.
- Students are still welcome to stop by the Student Activities Center on Wednesdays during lunch to help organize this amazing event.
We hope to see you at the Festival! View the flyer we made for local realtors. Please feel free to forward it to help spread the word.
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Did You Know? 
Laura Martinez has been appointed to fill the vacancy on the SUHSD Board of Trustees. Laura is resigning her post on the East Palo Alto City Council, which she has held since 2008, in order to serve as a trustee. Her seat, as well as two others, will be up for reelection in December.
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Juniors: PTSA Scholarship Applications Are Due Tomorrow
Please encourage your junior to apply for our prestigious PTSA Scholarship. Remember, your student must be a member of the PTSA to apply; to check the list of current members or to join, click here.
Questions? Please email Sequoia.PTSA.Scholarship@gmail.com.
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IB and AP Exam Proctors Needed by April 1
We need a few more IB and AP proctors, especially on May 18, 21, and 28. Please check your calendars today and sign up by April 1 to allow time for the clearance process (described below).
Thanks to our wonderful volunteers, many of the spots have been filled, but we need to fill them all in order to satisfy strict IB and AP requirements. No experience or qualifications are necessary. Proctoring is a great way to see what the exam process is like if your student is considering IB or AP classes in the future. IB and AP proctoring guidelines differ.  As an IB exam proctor, you will be on your feet and roaming the duration of an exam, and you can proctor an exam your student is taking. As an AP proctor, you can sit for part of the exam, but you cannot proctor an exam your student is taking. To sign up, click here: vols.pt/bdeJAd. Within 1-2 weeks of signing up, you will be contacted via email by Elisa Nino- Sears, from Sequoia's academic volunteer department (also known as ATLAS). She will help you through a very simple online clearance process for all volunteers placed in academic settings at Sequoia. It keeps our Sequoia campus safe. Questions? Email Laura Miller.
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Open Enrollment Update
The SUHSD was able to grant 80% of the requests from 8th graders to attend a school other than their home school. The biggest exchange was between Woodside and Sequoia; part of that stems from students in Redwood City attending a middle school that isn't near their home and wanting to follow that cohort to high school.
The majority of the students whose requests were not granted wanted to attend either Menlo-Atherton or Sequoia, both of which are at full capacity.
100% of siblings were granted a transfer request.
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Juniors: Donate Baked Goods
Calling all pro-bakers and all those who just love to bake. The 2016 Safe and Sober Grad Activities Committee is hosting a "Cake Walk" booth at Sequoia's International Festival on Saturday, April 11. If you would like to donate baked goods to our booth, please email Heather Alexander.
There will be a separate volunteer link coming soon for Junior families to work a shift at our booth.
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PTSA Mini-grant Spotlight
Project Title:Digital Photography - flash drives and memory cards
Submitted by: Kate Sheehan, Digital Photography Teacher
Amount funded: $313
 We now have enough memory cards for our cameras with LOTS of space so the students can take a full project on one card and download their work. Students who haven't been able to afford a flash drive to back up their work are now happily using the ones granted by PTSA.
These purchases leveled the playing field so that students who couldn't afford their own memory card or flash drive have the same opportunities as others.
THANK YOU so much to the Sequoia High School Education Foundation for providing the funding.
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Grad Night $80 Tickets Available Now!
As you know, our seniors will celebrate their high school graduation with their Sequoia classmates aboard a Hornblower yacht on the San Francisco Bay on Friday night, June 5!
Tickets are still available for Sequoia's Class of 2015 Safe & Sober Grad Night Cruise. This fun night packed with food, music, dancing, games, friends and more is a special way to say goodbye to Sequoia High. (To allow the graduates to spend time with each other, Grad Night is SOLELY for SHS graduating seniors. NO outside guests are allowed.)
From now through April 15, tickets are $80/person. Prices go up to $100 on April 16, so get yours sooner rather than later. Also, a limited number of discounted tickets are available for students in need. If you need a reduced-price ticket, please see Mayela in the Parent Center ASAP.
There are two ways to purchase tickets:
1. Order online from the Shopping Cart on the PTSA website.
When you order your student's ticket, please consider making a donation of any amount to help a fellow SHS student who cannot afford her/his own ticket.
2. Students can bring $80 cash or a check (payable to "SHS PTSA") to the Grad Night Ticket Table at lunch in the MPR on Friday, April 10.
To see a list of attendees, click here.
Questions? Please email Nancy Melmon or Julie Grossman.
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Calendar
THIS WEEK
Monday, March 23
Collab Day
Tuesday, March 24
4pm Deadline to apply for a PTSA Junior Scholarship
Thursday, March 26
Please be sure to stop by the PTSA table, located near the front door.
You can drop off items for the staff event (link) or a membership check as part of "Male Madness". Or just say "hi".
Friday, March 27 Saturday, March 28
6pm Boosters Crab Dinner and Auction
Monday, March 30
No School--Cesar Chavez Day
Tuesday, April 7
6:30-7 Reflections Reception, MPR
7-8:30pm PTSA meeting, MPR
Friday, April 10 Grad Night tickets for sale at lunch
Saturday, April 11
2-6:30pm Sequoia International Festival
Monday-Friday, April 20-24
No School--Spring Break
Saturday, May 9
Sequoia Stampede
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Dads: only 8 more days to join the PTSA and help us win $500.
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En Español
¿Quieres traducir este boletín ahora? Siga estas instrucciones para obtener una traducción:
1. Haga clic en "Click here" en la parte superior del correo electrónico: "Having trouble viewing this email? Click here."
2. Mantenga presionada la tecla Control (PC) y la tecla A para seleccionar toda la página, a continuación, mantenga presionada la tecla Control y haga clic en la tecla C para copiar la página entera.
3. Abra una página nueva del navegador web y vaya a http://translate.google.com/#
4. Coloca el cursor en la caja y mantenga presionada la tecla Control y haga clic en la tecla V para pegar el boletín completo en el cuadro de traducción.
5. Asegúrese de seleccionar "To: Spanish" en la parte superior de la página. Haga clic en el botón Traducir. La traducción al español debe aparecer en el lado derecho.
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| Sequoia Union High School District Parent Education Series |
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Sequoia Parent Education Series
"Parenting the Always-on Generation" with Gloria Moskowitz-Sweet and Erica Pelavin, My Digital TAT2
Wednesday, April 15, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Sequoia High School, MPR
Our kids are "digital natives"--they have grown up in a world of online access and ever-changing media devices. Do you wonder how to teach your teen responsibility and ethics online, how to ensure they are aware of their actions, and how best to parent them in a digital age?
Come join Gloria Moskowitz-Sweet, PPSC, LCSW, Erica Pelavin, LCSW, PhD, from My Digital for an interactive workshop in "Parenting the Always-On Generation." This event is recommended for anyone interested in an overview of the digital landscape and learning about thoughtful ways to navigate media with your students. You will come away with strategies that support both you and your teen.
Parents, students, faculty/staff, and community members welcome! 
Sequoia Parent Education Series events are free, sponsored by the Sequoia High School Education Foundation, the Sequoia Healthcare District, and the Sequoia Union High School District.
Simultaneous Spanish interpretation will be provided.
For more information, contact Charlene Margot, Founding Director, The Parent Education Series, at cmargot@csmconsulting.net or 650-868-0590. For Spanish, contact Mayela Ramirez, Parent Center Coordinator, at 650-369-1411 x 63105.
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Woodside Parent Education Series
"The Mask You Live In," Documentary film from The Representation Project
Introduction by Steve Smith, PhD, Palo Alto University
Thursday, April 2, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Woodside High School, Performing Arts Center (PAC)
Register: mask2015whs.eventbrite.com
The Mask You Live In, a new documentary film premiering at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, asks the important question: Is American masculinity harming our boys, young men, and society at large? Compared to girls, research shows that boys in the U.S. are more likely to be diagnosed with a behavior disorder, prescribed stimulant medications (for ADD/ADHD), fail out of school, binge drink, commit a violent crime, and/or take their own lives.
"We must challenge definitions of masculinity, model the change we want to see, then seek it in mentors and teachers who will help our boys stay true to themselves. The Mask You Live In is not just a film - it's a movement. This is just the beginning. We're all coming together in a beautiful way, and the time is now. Our boys don't need to suffer, and they don't need to live in pain." --Jennifer Siebel Newsom Writer, Director, and Producer of "The Mask You Live In" and CEO of The Representation Project
Watch a trailer of the film: therepresentationproject.org/films/the-mask-you-live-in
Tickets are free, but advance registration is requested. Parents, high school students, faculty/staff and community members welcome!
Woodside Parent Education Series events are sponsored by the WHS PTSA, the Sequoia Healthcare District, and the Sequoia Union High School District.
Simultaneous Spanish interpretation will be provided.
For more information, contact Charlene Margot, Parent Education Series, Founding Director, at cmargot@csmconsulting.net or (650) 868-0590.
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| Community Opportunities and Events |
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Student Conservation Association 
The Student Conservation Association is a nationwide non-profit committed to inspiring the next generation of conservation leaders through hands-on service to the land in San Mateo County parks and beyond. They are looking to hire youth age 15-19 to get outside this summer doing trail maintenance, habitat restoration, etc. They are also hiring people age 21+ to lead these projects. Please see the flyers for more details: crew members crew leaders
Check out their Facebook page for their most recent projects: www.facebook.com/SCASanMateoCounty
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Does Your Teen Have Trouble Sleeping? 
The Department of Psychiatry at Stanford University is currently conducting a study to help teens go to bed earlier and wake up earlier. The treatment involves use of a light device that is placed by the child's bedside and flashes periodically throughout the night. The study requires two visits to Stanford University, completing a sleep diary daily for five weeks, and weekly brief telephone calls to check in.
They are looking for teenagers who are between ages 14-18, enrolled full-time in 9th-12th grades, have difficulty falling asleep and waking up in the morning, are not currently taking any medications for sleep, desire to go to bed at an earlier time, and don't sleep only in the prone (face-down) position.
If you are interested, please contact Meital Mashash, Study Coordinator, at meital@stanford.edu or (650) 725-7767.
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Green Energy Camp and Biotechnology Summer Camp 2015
Skyline College is offering two camps this summer for high school students interested in pursuing a green career or a biotechnology career. The camps are free to high school students enrolled in Skyline College's Concurrent Enrollment program. You can download a program packet here: www.skylinecollege.edu/outreach/concurrentenrollment.php. Students earn two units of college credit as well as high school credit through this program.
The Green Energy camp runs June 15 to June 24 from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm. Students are provided an overview of solar technology and energy efficiency. In addition, they receive guidance from a professional videographer to produce a short video addressing alternative energy solutions. Students also learn how to market their video message on social media platforms. This is a fun and interactive class that is now in its third year!
The Biotechnology camp runs June 15 through June 26 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Students are provided the opportunity to learn the various steps involved in manufacturing a new antibiotic. They learn about gene fusion technology, business modeling, clean room facilities, the drug manufacturing process, calibrating machinery, purification, DNA technology, and various STEM careers. This is the first year we will be offering the camp and it is definitely a class for the future scientist!
Registration for the Green Energy and Biotechnology classes begins May 14. For any questions about the classes or the concurrent enrollment process, please contact Rita Gulli, Project Director, Center for Workforce Development, at gullir@smccd.edu or 650.738.4491.
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Summer Executive Function Boot Camp with Social Cognition 
Join us this summer for a unique executive function & social cognition high school & college prep bootcamp that follows your child from camp to school to home.
Two-week intensive training in peer groups plus follow-up at school, educator training & parent-at-home support. Providing Parents, Students & Educators Customized Strategies & Successful Application in Academic and Social Settings.
Dates: Aug 3-14 **OR** Aug 17-28
Place: 155 Birch St, Suite B, Redwood City, across from Sequoia High School (subject to change depending upon capacity)
HIGHLIGHTS:
Hands on Training: Hands on strategies integrating Executive Function and Social Cognition together in peer group activities.
Parent Toolkit: Teaching parents how to manage support for maximizing independence.
Refresher Prep: Review day or two before school starts to jump start thinking.
Teacher Ed: Training each student's teacher the EF Boot Camp tools for successful integration of EF/Social Cog strategies in real-time academic setting.
Classroom Practice: In-class (hands on) implementation of Boot Camp strategies. Providing rubrics for each student to measure his/her success.
Home Consult: An added bonus (optional): full review and systems check to secure all strategies are being used to their optimum.
For more information, email ExFunctionBootCamp@gmail.com or visit our website at www.talkingplayhouse.com.
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