Ponte Vedra High School
Shark Bytes
Ponte Vedra High School

January 27, 2014

 
Important Dates
  • January 28 - SAC Meeting, 4:15, Media Center.
  • February 1 - Practice SAT/ACT.  
  • February 6 - PVHS Academy Night, 6 pm. 
  • February 18 - SAC Meeting, 4:15, Media Center.
  • February 18 - PVHS College Fair, 5 - 7 pm. 
  • March 25 - SAC Meeting, 4:15, Media Center.
  • May 3 - Relay for Life, 3 pm. 
School News and Announcements

PVHS Student Ambassadors 

These students serve to assist the front office staff to welcome new families to PVHS. The responsibilities of a student ambassador include working in the front office during the summer to greet guests and answer phones, give tours to new families, direct new students during orientation, and other school events. If you are interested in becoming a student ambassador, download the application or see Mrs. Adriano (front desk); Mrs. Nightingale (guidance) or Mrs. Dahlenburg (Room 119). Signed and completed applications are due to the front office by February 28, 2014.

PVHS College Fair
on Tuesday, February 18th from 5pm - 7pm.  A continually updated list on colleges attending can be found here.  Break-out session information is also available. Be sure to make time to attend!

For $25 you can help defer the cost of bringing all these great schools to our fantastic campus. Support the college bound sharks!

Have a business you would like to promote at the fair? Contact Lisa Crouch at lisa423@comcast.net or Willow Logue at kylogus@bellsouth.net for more information.  

 

SAC Needs Assessment Survey 

Dear Parents:

We are currently conducting our annual SAC Needs Assessment, and your feedback is very important to us. Each school is accountable for the number of surveys taken, so please take a few minutes to complete this. To login, please use the following website:

https://surveys.stjohns.k12.fl.us/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=82KIl67K

You can also access the survey through the PVHS website under the SAC tab in the left-hand column.

Thank you, in advance, for taking the time to share your views.

Sincerely,

Craig Speziale
Principal PVHS  

Teacher of the Quarter 
Each quarter St. John's County teachers, students and parents will be able to log on to www.nissanofstaugustine.com  to submit their teacher of choice with their story or reason that teacher should win "Teacher of the Quarter".

The winning teacher will be notified through their principal and will be asked to come by the dealership to pick up their new car to drive for 6 months.  

Please log on and submit the information for your favorite teacher today.  

 

Save the date for the College Fair on Tuesday, February 18th from 5pm - 7pm.  A continually updated list on colleges attending can be found here.

For $25 you can help defer the cost of bringing all these great schools to our fantastic campus. Support the college bound sharks!

Have a business you would like to promote at the fair? Contact Lisa Crouch at lisa423@comcast.net or Willow Logue at kylogus@bellsouth.net for more information. 

Tissues for the Media Center 
The cold and flu season is upon us and the need for tissues in the Media Center is high.  If you would like to donate a box or two of tissues to the media center, the students and staff would greatly appreciate it.   Thank you so much for your support!

Attention Junior Boys: 
Boys State applications are now available.  If you are interested in a challenging "Leadership in Action" program that will develop your civic and government awareness along with  opportunities to earn college credit and scholarships, please see Mrs. Asplen for information.   All applications are due by the morning of February 7!   
For more information, please visit http://boysstate.floridalegion.org.

Singers and Musicians  
are needed for the baseball season national anthem......
 
Any student singer or student musician who is interested in showcasing their vocal talent or musical talent is invited to sign up for a spot to sing or perform the national anthem at one of the home varsity baseball games. We will leave the invitation open until all the spots are full.  Opening Day is Thursday, February 13 @ 6 p.m. vs. Bartram Trail.  Any student interested please contact one of the baseball parents Kimberlee Hancock at 904-614-1754 (text or call) or e-mail kimberfc@comcast.net.  SCHEDULE is available on the school website under Athletics, Spring Sports, Baseball, Schedules, 2014 PVHS VARSITY BASEBALL SCHEDULE.... 

 

Academy Students 
If you plan to remain in one of our academies, you must complete an INTENT TO RETURN form. Additionally, if you do NOT live in Ponte Vedra High School official zone, you MUST fill out a new OUT OF ZONE WAIVER. If any part of your address has changed, you must notify the school immediately. Failure to complete any of these steps by the deadline will result in denial of re-acceptance into the academy next year. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Mari Ellen Asplen, Academy Coordinator, at the school.

Click here for the link for the application process. Please read the entire page carefully before completing the paperwork 

  

Bright Futures Scholarship 
The Bright Futures Scholarship application is now open. All seniors, regardless of their plans for after high school, should apply before May 30, 2014. The counseling department strongly recommends that students visit the Bright Futures website to become familiar with the program and to make sure they are on track to qualify. 
PTO Update

Moe's Fundraiser : "Pay What You Want Day". 
Moe's Southwest Grill recently remodeled their Jacksonville Beach store and would like to take the opportunity during the Grand Reopening to give back to the community. On February 18th all customers that visit the Jax Beach location can "pay whatever they want" for their order. There will be two collection jars at the register asking for donations to either Fletcher High School or Ponte Vedra High School instead. Donations will be requested but not necessary to receive food at no cost. Moe's is also going to add a $500 bonus donation to the school who collects the most money for the day.

Practice SAT Fundraiser 
Anxious about SAT or ACT testing? On February 1, the Tutoring Club St. Johns is providing local high school students with an excellent opportunity to experience a full-length practice SAT or ACT Test in a simulated testing environment without the fear of this score going on a transcript. Parents will receive a full score report and consultation to discuss the student's strengths and weaknesses within 10 days following the test.

The cost of this practice SAT or ACT test is $40 before Jan. 24 or $45 after Jan. 24; and the event is open to all High School students.

A portion of each fee will go to the PVHS PTO.

Call Tutoring Club St. Johns Now at 230-2855 or email them to RESERVE a Seat!!! Make sure to mention PVHS PTO!

Attention Parents of Seniors  
Recognize your graduate with a personalized yard sign. The PTO is selling customized signs with your senior's name and graduation year for $20 for one sign, $35 for two signs and $14 for three or more. Do not miss the chance to show your senior how proud you are of their accomplishments. Please see the flier and order form for more information, or for a small additional fee, you can purchase your sign online by clicking here  to purchase online. Contact Tricia Cannan if you have any questions at jcannan@comcast.net. 
Shark Sports 
This Week at Home
  • Monday - Boys' Basketball v. Fletcher, 5:30 pm.
  • Wednesday - Boys' Basketball v. Nease, 6 pm.
  • Thursday - Boys' Soccer v. Paxon, FHSAA Regional game. 
  • Friday - Boys' Basketball v.Creekside, 6 pm.     
Shark Teeth Bracelets on Sale at School!

Looking for a special Valentine's Day gift for your friend, sweetheart, teacher or parent?  Handmade beaded bracelets with shark teeth will be on Sale Feb 10th-12th during ALL lunch periods. They are only $15 and the selection features many color combinations.


Proceeds go to the Girls' Basketball Team.
Questions? Please contact Anne Roy at aroy2@bellsouth.net   

 

Calling all Girls .... who want to show their PVHS Shark team spirit and be involved......


A new BASEBALL season is here and another chance for girls to show their Shark spirit is here too!  The "Diamond Girls" group has been reorganized and looking for some enthusiastic girls willing and able to commit to helping out during the PVHS Boys Varsity Baseball season and be part of the Shark Nation baseball experience at PVHS. We'll need your help at home games and keeping the excitement going on campus throughout the season. Service hours are available for your efforts.

The first meeting will be Thursday, January 30th at 4 p.m., in ROOM 575. All those interested plan to attend and help recruit your friends for the season.  No RSVP needed for the first meeting, just plan to attend!

Any questions, feel free to contact any of the baseball parents below by text, e-mail, or phone.... 


Kimberlee Hancock at 904-614-1754, kimberfc@comcast.net,
Carol Ann Hallstrom at 904-631-8506, hallstrom4@comcast.net, or
Jen Karcher, 904-687-7231, jenkarcher@gmail.com  

 

Girls' Lacrosse

JV and Varsity tryouts will be this Monday, Jan 27 and Tuesday, Jan 28 for girl's lacrosse. All paperwork must be turned in prior to tryouts. Contact Coach Kelly at 708.9229 if you have questions.   

 

Boys Lacrosse Tryouts and Parent Meeting
Try-outs will be Monday, January 27 and Tuesday, January 28 from 6:30-8:30 AM. The boys need to be dressed and ready to begin at 6:30 not arriving at that time.  Try-outs will be held at the turf field at Davis Park.

Time/Date Change for Parent Meeting

 A parent meeting will be held on Monday, February 3rd at Ponte Vedra High School Auditorium.  This meeting is for parents and will be very informative about our upcoming season.   

 

Scorecard  

Boys' Basketball: Streaking Sharks at Home for Three Games This Week

The Ponte Vedra Sharks are going into the final week of their regular season playing their best ball of the season following one of the most successful weeks of basketball in the schools history.

Following a pair of impressive wins over Clay and Stanton Prep, the Sharks capped their week with a comeback victory over perennial power Palatka to secure the top seed in next week's district tournament to be held at the friendly Shark Tank in Ponte Vedra.

The win over Palatka was the fifth straight for the Sharks, since their overtime loss to Bartram Trail on January 14, and was played before one of the largest, and perhaps the loudest crowd in Ponte Vedra history.

Just moments after the horn sounded ending the Palatka contest, hundreds of exuberant students and fans stormed the court to congratulate the victorious Sharks.

The PVHS-Palatka tilt was the second of five consecutive games that will be played in front of the home folks as a most successful 2013-14 regular season is drawing to a close.

All three of this week's games will be played against well know foes beginning with The Battle of the Beach Monday night with neighboring Fletcher High.

A packed house will surely be on hand Wednesday when arch rival Nease High School visits the Shark Tank where many of the Ponte Vedra students will be wearing T-Shirts emblazoned with the iconic figure of their beloved veteran basketball coach Bud Beech.

The regular season will conclude Friday night when the Sharks will honor their four graduating seniors and, more importantly, hope to atone for an earlier loss suffered at Creekside back in November.

To illustrate how far the Sharks have progressed during this very productive season, one can first begin by taking note of their contest at Clay Co. last Monday.  An earlier match up between Clay and Ponte Vedra saw the Sharks barely hold off the visiting Blue Devils 48-46.

Clay used a very deliberate offense in a futile attempt to slow down the resurging Sharks but the scoreboard at halftime saw the Sharks on top 22-9.  With Clay packed back in a zone defense, coach Beech inserted zone buster Matt McGuier into the lineup and the junior out court shooting whiz notched 11 first half points en route to the lopsided 51-23 win.

Junior Quinn Carey then caught fire in the 3rd period by notching 10 of his 12 points to spark the Sharks as the visiting Ponte Vedra squad doubled up Clay 38-16 heading into the final stanza where coach Beech was able to give his bench some well earned playing time.

Senior point guard Jackson Johnson had a typical Jackson game as he the led the balanced Shark attack with 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists while committing but one lone turnover on the evening.

Ponte Vedra then returned to the Shark Tank to begin the first of five consecutive season home games to conclude the regular season schedule against first time opponent Stanton Prep.

The Sharks responded with their highest offensive output of the season with their 75-59 win over the overmatched Blue Devils.  16 Shark players saw action in the game with 12 players reaching the scoring column.

The Sharks doubled their lead over Stanton 32-16 at the halftime break before reeling off 28 3rd quarter points, 15 from Jackson Johnson, to widen their margin to 60-33 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Bud Beech then used his entire bench in the final period with Stanton outscoring the locals 26-15 to make the score a little more respectable.

Johnson led the Sharks in scoring with 22 points while dishing out 8 assists while Quinn Carey and James Crowther were also in double figures with 16 and 10 points respectively.

The Sharks then saved there best for last when they hosted perennial state power Palatka, a final four team in two of the last three seasons.

Chances for a Shark victory looked bleak as the Sharks trailed by 12 points, 45-33 entering the games final period. However, the never say die Sharks rallied from 12 points down at the start of the final quarter to stun Palatka 58-53 to clinch the top seed in the upcoming district tournament with a perfect 8-0 district record.

Senior point guard Jackson Johnson put an exclamation mark on his already loaded basketball resume with a fourth quarter showing that will long be remembered by the multitude of Shark supporters in attendance.

Johnson singed the nets for 16 fourth quarter points to spark the victory, but it was his amazing ball handling skills that clearly stood out during the magical evening.  Against the stingiest of pressing defenses Jackson deftly bobbed and weaved his way through the very athletic Palatka defenders, committing nary a turnover in the second half.

Even though the Sharks trailed by only two points with 3:13 showing on the scoreboard, and momentum clearly on their side, the crowd suddenly drew deafly silent when they saw Johnson writing on the floor in pain.  

Fortunately Johnson had 'only' suffered a leg cramp, and after a timeout and a few moments rest, was able to return to action where he scored 10 points in the final 2 minutes of action to lead the Sharks to one of their most signature wins in school history.

Johnson finished the evening with a game high 26 points but got plenty of help from his mates in the Sharks second victory over Palatka on the season.

Quinn Carey added 13 points for the Sharks while Donovan Garrard was also in double figures with 10 markers on a perfect 5-5 from the field.

James Crowther, who had to sit out the second quarter with 3 personal fouls came up with some big plays for the victors, contributing seven points, a couple of big steals, and zero turnovers.

Although one will not see his name in the scoring column, Pat Boylan came off the bench in the second half and gave coaches Bud Beech and Marcus Perez some valuable minutes, playing solid defense while committing zero turnovers.

The Sharks are hopeful of continuing their hot streak as the regular season draws to a close in front of the large and enthusiastic crowds that have crammed The Shark Tank.

For those who cannot attend the games in person, one will again be able to access www.planeths.com and view all the contests web streamed over the Internet. Tip off for all varsity games will be 7:30 PM and will be preceded by the Junior Varsity contests that begin at 6:00.

Girls' Soccer:
The Lady Sharks faced Stanton Prep Thursday night for the Regional quarter final game. It was a cold night at Stanton's campus but the Sharks came out hungry. Several opportunities came and went but sophomore Abby Miller capitalized on one of those opportunities in the 32nd minute of the first half. The Sharks went into halftime leading 1-0.  Stanton had several opportunities as well but some good saves by senior goalie Kari Davidson and a strong defense led by Claire McAuliffe and Kristen Sandifer denied Stanton of putting a goal on the board. Deep into the second half, senior midfielder Bailey Dotsikas crossed the ball in front of the keeper and Delaney Borror put it in the back of the net for a beautiful goal. The Lady Sharks won 2-0.  They will play Bartram Tuesday night at 7pm for the Regional semifinal game at Bartram. Come show your support!!

Boys' Soccer:
Congratulations to Boys Varsity Soccer for securing the win for the 2014 District Championship!  

Friday's match up was quite intense against Nease High School. Nease started out strong, scoring the first point, but in the second half Ponte Vedra came out stronger tying the game 1-1 with a goal by Munir Adamo. Going into overtime , Wes Nicholson got fouled in the box, allowing Ponte Vedra's Nate Frecks to take the Penalty shot securing the 2-1 win.  

The Boys Varsity Soccer team is advancing to regionals and they are playing Paxon High School Thursday night Jan 30th at home - Please come out and support the team!
In the Community
3rd annual Beaches Community Healthcare Family Walk and Fun Festival
Saturday, March 1, 2014, 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Seawalk Pavilion at Jacksonville Beach (north 1st Street at Beach Blvd)

Whether March "comes in like a lion or a lamb," it's not too late to get your new year off to a healthy start with a fun-filled, community event, all for a good cause - healthcare services at Beaches Community Healthcare, a Sulzbacher Center clinic.  

It will be a great day of seaside family fun at beautiful Jacksonville Beach, complete with a beach walk, health and wellness vendors, refreshments, outdoor activities and more. More importantly, your participation will help support critically needed medical, dental and behavioral health services for our uninsured beaches neighbors.
 
With nowhere else to turn, more and more of our uninsured neighbors are seeking health services provided by the Sulzbacher Center's Beaches Community Healthcare clinic. Our federally qualified clinic provides more than 800 patients with behavioral, dental and primary health care every month. But the Sulzbacher Center needs your help more than ever to meet the growing medical needs of our community's most vulnerable citizens.

Here's how you can help:
�         Register as an individual, family or corporate group and participate in the walk.
�         Partner with us as a Community Health Sponsor.
�         Take part as a Wellness Vendor to share healthy living information, food samples, etc. Or offer a sampling of special services, such as massage, yoga, exercise tips, etc.

Whether you walk like a lion or stroll like a lamb, come join your friends, neighbors, family, and coworkers at the Jacksonville Beach oceanfront on March 1.  By supporting our family-friendly community event, you will be helping to improve the health and well being of those who need it most.

St. Johns County Mentor Fair
In celebration of National Mentor Month, the St. Johns County School District and RSVP of St. Johns County will be hosting a mentor fair on Wednesday, January 29 from 8 a.m. - 12 p.m., at the Fullerwood Center Auditorium, 10 Hildreth Drive in St. Augustine.  Representatives will be on hand to provide information about mentoring students in the St. Johns County School District.  Mentor training will also be provided to interested individuals and a continental breakfast will be served.

Mentors give approximately one hour per week to meet with a student and support him/her in academic pursuits, and other goals.  No prior experience is required and background screening and training are provided at no cost.  Contact RSVP/Volunteer Services at 904-547-3945, or Cheryl_Freeman@stjohns.k12.fl.us for more details. 

Chocolate and Beyond - A Sweet Way to Support Volunteers
Chocolate and Beyond, a celebration of chocolate, desserts, and other culinary sensations, will be held on Saturday, February 22, 2014 from 2 - 4 p.m. at First Coast Technical College, Building C in St. Augustine.  Guests will enjoy tasty samples from some of the area's finest restaurants and specialty shops.  A silent auction, raffle, and contests will also be part of this fun and exciting afternoon.


Hosted by The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of St. Johns County, proceeds from Chocolate and Beyond benefit the volunteer program, and young students through book purchases.  Tickets are $10.00 each and can be purchased on the RSVP website (www.rsvpstjohns.com), or in person at Whetstone Chocolates (King Street and Anastasia Blvd locations), Cold Cow Ice Cream, and TD Bank in St. Augustine.  Call RSVP at 904-547-3945 for more information.

Teen Entrepreneurship Conference for Girls
The "It's HER Business" 9th Annual Teen Entrepreneurship Conference is a one-day conference at UNF for GIRLS ONLY ages 15-18 enrolled in any northeast FL high school.  It is designed to encourage financial literacy and help girls learn about starting businesses and managing personal finances through interactive games and hands-on activities.  The event is on Friday, March 7 from 8:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at the UNF University Center.  It is FREE and lunch and materials are provided.  Students must provide transportation.  The FIRST 100 GIRLS to apply will be accepted.  Please go online to http://www.sbdc.unf.edu/its-her-business.php for an application and waiver form, DUE BY FRIDAY, JANUARY 31.
In This Issue
School News and Announcements
PTO Update
Shark Sports
In the Community
PVHS Links


 
Other Useful Links
 
 

 

Join Our Mailing List
Feel free to contact us with information that may interest the PVHS community.  All submissions are subject to approval by the PVHS administration, and must be received by Friday for inclusion in Monday's newsletter.  Please e-mail your information exactly as you would like it to appear to Pat Forsythe, forsytp@stjohns.k12.fl.us.