Wednesday, December 3 - Senior Fashion Show mandatory model meeting for all seniors who want to be a part of the show, 7 - 8:30 p.m., PAC (see article)
Wednesday, December 3 - La Entrada Parent Education lecture Raising Resilient Tweens and Teens, 7 - 8:30 p.m., La Entrada Middle School MUR (see article)
Thursday, December 4 - M-A Band and Orchestra Concert, 7 p.m., PAC
Friday, December 5 - M-A Choir and Guitar Concert, 7 p.m., PAC
Saturday, December 6 - M-A Canned Food Drive distribution at Ecumenical Hunger, 9 a.m.
Saturday, December 6 - SAT test date

NEXT WEEK

Tuesday, December 9 - Math contest at lunch, room D-20
Thursday, December 11 - SDMSC meeting, 3:45 - 4:45, Career Center
Saturday, December 13 - ACT test date

SAVE THE DATE

Monday, December 15 through Thursday, December 18 - Final exams and finals schedule
Friday, December 19 - NO SCHOOL for students
Monday, December 22 through Monday, January 5, 2015 - Winter Break, NO SCHOOL
Wednesday, January 7 - Financial aid evening for seniors and their parents, 7 p.m.

Administration

SAT Class Still Has Room - There is still room for more students in the zero period SAT class this spring which begins on Tuesday, January 6, the first day of the spring semester. If your son or daughter is interested, have him or her come to room D-20 before school or during brunch in the next few days or room D-16 at lunch or after school. They will need a check for $22, payable to M-A, to purchase their consumable SAT book. Enrollment will be first-come, first served. If you have questions or would like to receive a write-up explaining the class, email Gregg Whitnah at gwhitnah@seq.org.

M-A's Own PSAT/SAT Prep - Enrollment is open for juniors and seniors who plan to take the SAT during second semester. Sophomores who know that a fall sport will limit preparation for the PSAT next fall will be wait-listed. This class is an intensive five-week course providing techniques and strategies including whether or not to guess, typical grammar problems, time management, essay tactics, and much more. The class focusses on the current test format as the new test will not be given this spring.

The class meets on campus from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays. The first session will take place from mid-January to the week the March test is given, the second session will be from mid-March to the week of the May test. Class will not meet during spring break. Our fee, which includes all necessary material, ranges from $100 to $225 and depends on the number enrolled. Once a student is seated in the class, the parent is responsible for the fee. For questions and/or to enroll your student, please email Jane King at jccking@att.net.

Spring Semester Schedule Distribution - The Admin Support Committee needs a few more volunteers on Tuesday, January 6 from 7:10 to 9 a.m. to distribute class schedules to students. Doors will open at 7:20 a.m. to accommodate students with a 0 period. Please add your name to this volunteer sign-up sheet if you can help, and dress in layers! Grateful wishes to all for a very merry holiday season! Please direct your questions to Admin Support Co-Chairs Catherine McMillan (gregandcat@gmail.com) and Mary Zarucchi (menlomaryz@aol.com).

M-A Holiday Gift Drive - Last chance to sign up for the Holiday Gift Drive. You may sign up on the M-A website and your family's wish list will be posted Friday, December 5. Wrapped gifts can be dropped off at M-A in the morning on Monday, December 15. You may also give a monetary donation of any amount that will go directly toward buying gifts. Monetary donations can be dropped off at the M-A Main Office. Make checks payable to 'Holiday Gift Drive.' Thank you and please email magiftdrive@seq.org with any questions.

Canned Food Drive - This is the last week of the canned food drive. Food will be distributed at Ecumenical Hunger in East Palo Alto the morning of Saturday, December 6. You can still help:

When shopping for your family, please add a few extra cans to your cart and drop them into the Second Harvest Food Bank barrels outside the store.
Consider donating online at Second Harvest Food Bank. Enter 'Menlo-Atherton' in the Food Drives search box so that your gift can be credited to the M-A outreach effort.

If you would like to receive food, please leave a message at 650-322-5311, ext. 50250. Please contact Lori Cohen and Paula Rash at feedourfamilies@mabearspta.org with any questions. Thank you for joining the fight against hunger!

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PTA News

Attention Seniors That Want to Participate in the Fashion Show - Follow these three easy steps to participate:

Join the Facebook group, M-A PTA Senior Fashion Show 2015
Fill out and have your parents sign the Model Contract and Photography Release form prior to the mandatory model meeting. These forms were passed out in English classes and can also be found in the front office, and on FB. Bring the forms to the mandatory model meeting.
Attend the mandatory model meeting on Wednesday, December 3 from 7 - 8:30 p.m. in the PAC.

Volunteers Needed - Parent volunteers are needed to take photos of the models at the mandatory model meeting for the Fashion Show on Wednesday, December 3 from 6:45 - 8:45 p.m. in the PAC. No special talent is needed. Please contact Nancy Kessler at nancykessler@velcap.com if you can help.

Grad Night 2015 - The Grad Night Committee would like to thank the 61 families who have already helped make this event a night to remember for the seniors! Your support will be used to secure the party venue, entertainment, and transportation. It will also ensure that every student can celebrate their achievement regardless of their ability to pay. But $6,000 is still needed to reach the goal. Any amount helps: $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000, $2,500, etc. Donations do not replace the price of admission-your student will still need to purchase a ticket.

Donating online is easy. Just go to the M-A PTA website and scroll down to donate to 'Grad Night'. Or, make a check payable to "M-A PTA/2015 Grad Night" and mail it to:

M-A High School, Attn: Grad Night

555 Middlefield Rd, Atherton, CA 94027

Thank you so much for generously supporting the Class of 2015!

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Foundation News

Menlo-Atherton High School's Foundation for the Future

Joins National #GivingTuesday Movement!

You've heard of Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Well here's a new day to celebrate -#GivingTuesday - a day to give back! If you haven't made your annual M-A Foundation donation, make your impact felt by donating Tuesday! Please visit the Foundation website to give. If you have already donated, thank you!

Please help M-A students by spreading the word: forward this email to your friends so they can join in the giving. A #GivingTuesday gift that is meaningful to you will be meaningful to M-A students.

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Parent Education

LA ENTRADA PARENT EDUCATION SERIES

Raising Resilient Tweens and Teens with Self-Compassion

with Leah Weiss, PhD, and Lisa Medoff, PhD

Wednesday, December 3, 7 - 8:30 p.m.

La Entrada Middle School, MUR

Please join us for the first-ever La Entrada Parent Education Series event. Presenters Leah Weiss, PhD, Compassion Education and Scholarship at HopeLab, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Lisa Medoff, PhD, Education Specialist at the Stanford School of Medicine and Lecturer in the Program of Human Biology, Stanford University, will share their expertise on how to raise resilient tweens and teens. Learn how you can support your child's success in school and life through self-compassion.

La Entrada Parent Education Series events are free and sponsored by the LE PTA. Parents, faculty/staff and community members welcome! For more information, contact Charlene Margot, Parent Education Series, Program Director, at cmargot@csmconsulting.net or 650-868-0590.

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Athletics

Check out the Athletics Calendar!

Weekly Sports Wrap-Up

Girls Varsity Tennis - All 10 starters of the PAL champion and CCS quarterfinalist Bears were voted onto the All-League roster by the opposing coaches. First-team honors went to senior Sami Andrew and freshmen Julia Marks and Lanie Van Linge. Second-team honors went to seniors Caroline Kelly, Taylor Noble, Amelia Tiemann, and Laila Volpe, juniors Sally Carlson and Amanda Scandalios, and sophomore Julia Chang.

In the CCS individual singles tournament, Van Linge easily won her first two matches to advance to the semi-finals. There, she lost a tight match, 7-5 in the 3rd set, to the #1 seed and eventual champion. In the CCS individual doubles competition, Andrew and Marks teamed to win their first round match before falling in the quarterfinals. Noble and Chang also competed and lost in the first round. Next year, the Bears return 5 starters and will be one of the favorites to win the league title again.

Girls Varsity Volleyball - On to the NorCal Division 1 finals!! It is said that #1-ranked Pitman High School has an unstoppable 6'3" hitter, a towering setter, and a formidable defense, but if any team is up to that challenge, it is our own mighty Bears, with a record of 30-3. This week's home-court victories against Lowell and Homestead were made sweeter by the gym full of energetic M-A supporters, led by the loyal 7th Woman Club. THANK YOU for coming out to cheer on the team.

On Tuesday, Lowell came on strong and took the match to 4 sets, but ultimately fell 25-15, 17-25, 25-16, 25-14. Kaitlin Tavarez, Leanna Collins, and Kirby Knapp had stand-out performances: Tavarez with 22 digs, 2 aces and the best passing stats of the team; Collins with a stunning 22 kills, 3 blocks and 2 digs; and Knapp with a whopping 53 assists, 10 digs and a kill. The score was ramped up by Devin Joos (2 aces, 20 digs and 14 kills), Ally Ostrow (15 kills and 5 digs), and Eliza Grover (5 blocks, 3 digs and 3 kills). Alexa Roumeliotis and Jacqueline DiSanto contributed an ace and 5 digs each, Rachel Gerber put up some key blocks at the net, and Kiana Sales stepped up once more with several strings of key serves.

On Saturday night Ayers Gym was packed and rowdy as M-A faced Homestead for the second time in a week, having defeated them for the CCS championship only days before. The Mustangs were out for revenge, but the Bears shut them down in three sets: 25-14, 25-17, 25-23. Once again, Knapp's setting prowess (42 assists, with back-up from Joos, Grover and Roumeliotis) positioned the flank of hitters to do their work, with 15 kills each from Joos and Collins, and additional zingers from Ostrow (10), Grover (6), and Gerber (1). Everyone was digging deep, with high counts from Joos (14), Tavarez (13), Knapp (11), Roumeliotis (9), DiSanto (8), and Ostrow (5). The block party was led by Grover (5.5) with help from Gerber (1.5), Joos and Collins. Two aces from Tavarez and one from Joos, service consistency from Sales, perfect serve-receive stats from Roumeliotis, and on-target passing from Ostrow and DiSanto kept the Bears in play. The nail-biting final set - and the Mustang's last hope - was put to an end by an on-the-line Roumeliotis ace that brought the house down.

On Tuesday, December 2, the team will travel to Turlock to face Pitman in the Northern California Division 1 finals. Tell all of your Central Valley friends and relatives to put on their maroon and gold and come on out to support the Bears!

Boys Varsity Basketball - The Bears, captained by seniors Ryan Cole, Whittaker Jellins, and Danny LaPorte, has scrimmaged against its alumni and Woodside Priory and plays its final scrimmage at The Kings Academy on Monday, December 1, at 7 p.m. The Bears officially open their pre-season at Tennyson in Hayward on Tuesday, December 2 at 7 p.m., and then host Sacred Heart Cathedral on Thursday, December 4 at 7 p.m. and Palo Alto on Saturday, December 6 at 7 p.m. Come out and be part of the 6th man club!

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Community News

Creative Writing Contest: $1,000 for 1,000 Words - The Leyla Beban Young Authors Foundation is looking for outstanding short fiction of exactly 1,000 words. Tell a story only you can tell. Write something that moves you, dazzles you, and says precisely what you want to say in precisely the way you want to say it, as long as you say it in precisely 1,000 words.

For middle and high school students
Deadline is Sunday, February 1
First-prize winner will receive a $1,000 scholarship.
Seven $100 cash prizes for grade school winners.
Winners will be published in the journal Bluefire.

Find contest guidelines and submission information on the Bluefire website.

PENINSULA YOUTH THEATRE - Do you hear the people sing? Peninsula Youth Theatre (PYT) is producing the full version of Les Miserables with actors ages 8-18. Auditions are Wednesday, December 3 and Thursday, December 4 with callbacks on Saturday, December 6 and Sunday, December 7. For more information and to schedule an audition please visit PYT.

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Quote of the Week

Always remember that you are absolutely unique.

Just like everyone else.

~ Margaret Mead

BearNotes Submissions

Email proofread submissions to BearNotes@mabearspta.org by Thursday midnight.
Please keep submissions concise and include the organization name, event, date, time, location, and contact information, including website URL.
All submissions are subject to editing by the PTA.
For the PTA policy on BearNotes publication, please go to the M-A PTA website.
M-A PTA does not endorse third-party events or submissions, nor take responsibility regarding the content of any third-party websites.

Go Bears. Grrrr!

Thank you from the BearNotes Staff: Cindy Butler, Dianne Child, Pam Fernandes, Sue Olson, Jenny Pont, Kelly Stewart, and Bobbie Wood