Monday, April 13 - CAASPP Testing, schedule change
Tuesday, April 14 - CAASPP Testing, schedule change
Wednesday, April 15 - SAT Subject Test Preparation sign-ups, lunch, room D-20 (see article)
Wednesday, April 15 - Parenting the Always-On Generation, 7 p.m., Sequoia MPR (see article)
Wednesday, April 15 - SUHSD Board meeting, 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 16 - SDMSC meeting, 3:45 p.m., Staff Center
Saturday, April 18 - M-A baseball team Car Show and fundraiser, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. M-A parking lot
Saturday, April 18 - ACT test date

NEXT WEEK

Monday, April 20 through Friday, April 24 - Spring break - NO SCHOOL

SAVE THE DATE

Tuesday, April 28 - PTA meeting, 8:45 a.m., PAC Cafeteria
Wednesday, April 29 - Mandatory senior meeting, 8:30 a.m., PAC
Wednesday, April 29 - Growing and Nurturing a Reader, 10-11:30 a.m., Sequoia Library (see article)
Thursday, April 30 - Know Your Rights presentation, 6:30 to 8:15 p.m. (see article)
Friday, May 1 - End of fourth quarter progress period
Friday, May 1 - Murder Mystery Drama Theater, 6 p.m., PAC Cafeteria
Saturday, May 2 - SAT test date
Sunday, May 3 - Big Bear Run, 9 a.m., M-A Campus (see article)
Monday, May 4 through Friday, May 15 - AP Testing
Tuesday, May 5 - Senior Farewell tryouts, 3:30-6:30 p.m., PAC
Wednesday, May 6 - Senior Farewell tryouts, 3:30-6:30 p.m., PAC
Tuesday, May 12 - Minimum Day
Tuesday, May 12 - CAHSEE testing
Wednesday, May 13 - CAHSEE testing

Administration

Schedule Change for CAASPP Testing - The junior class will undergo California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress Testing (CAASPP) on Monday, April 13 and Tuesday, April 14. The bell schedule for these days will be as shown (Note: Tuesday's schedule is corrected from last week's BearNotes.)

Monday, April 13
8:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.	Testing, Grade 11 only
12:45 to 1:15 p.m.	Lunch - Grades 9, 10, 12 arrive
1:20 to 1:55 p.m.	Period 1 classes
2 to 2:35 p.m.	Period 3 classes
2:40 to 3:15 p.m.	Period 5 classes

Tuesday, April 14	CORRECTED
8:45 a.m. to 12:05 p.m.	Testing, Grade 11 only
12:05 to 12:35 p.m.	Lunch - Grades 9, 10, 12 arrive
12:40 to 1:15 p.m.	Period 2 classes
1:20 to 1:55 p.m.	Period 4 classes
2 to 2:35 p.m.	Period 6 classes
2:40 to 3:15 p.m.	Period 0 classes

Congratulations to M-A's Orchestra! Last weekend, the M-A orchestra, led by Kent Kurrus, travelled to New York City to take part in an international high school orchestra competition. The group had the once-in-a-lifetime honor of playing at Carnegie Hall, along with other award-winning orchestras from high schools in the U.S. and Canada that all competed for this honor. M-A's orchestra played three selections: Johannes Brahms' Fourth Movement of the First Symphony, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Symphony Number 40, and Elliott Del Borgo's Meditation. Fifty-one members of the orchestra were able to make the trip and besides playing at Carnegie Hall, visited Broadway, Central Park, and many other New York sights. What an amazing honor for the orchestra members and the M-A music program. Congratulations to Kent Kurrus and his musicians!

Know Your Rights!

The Honorable Judge LaDoris Cordell

Thursday, April 30

6:30 to 8:15 p.m., location to be determined

Come to a workshop led by Honorable Judge LaDoris Cordell (City of San Jose Independent Police Auditor) on youth rights. Learn the answers to questions such as:

What should you do when you're stopped or questioned by law enforcement?
What are your rights as a young person?

A facilitated Q&A period will take place after her presentation. This event, sponsored by M-A, will be a highly interactive and informative event for all young people and their families. For more information, please contact Miki Cristerna, Director of M-A's Student Support Center at mcristerna@seq.org.

Order Your Yearbook! Prices for yearbooks are $105 now, but will increase to $120 when the books arrive. Make sure to get your yearbook before they run out!

Subject Test Preparation Sign-ups - M-A will offer SAT Subject Test preparation in the month of May for sophomores and juniors planning to take subject tests on Saturday, June 6. M-A is offering the following subjects: Math (level 2), Biology, Chemistry, and Literature during 0 period or after school depending on each teacher's schedule. An application and article was in the April TriVocis. Registration will take place Wednesday, April 15, at lunch, in room D-20. Students should have an application filled out and signed by a parent. Registration will take about 5 minutes. Contact Gregg Whitnah at gwhitnah@seq.org if you need an application form. Signing up for the SAT Subject Test preparation classes does NOT sign students up for the actual tests. Students can sign up for the subject tests at SAT Subject Tests. If a student has a conflict with the Wednesday lunch sign-up, the student may come to room D-20 after school on Tuesday, April 14 or during brunch on Wednesday, April 15.

Parking on Arlington Way - Please remember that there is no stopping, standing, or parking on Arlington Way for 300 feet from Ringwood Avenue (SMC Reso 068346 date 10-17-2006). Thank you for being considerate to M-A's neighbors.

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PTA News

Grad Night Is Coming and Volunteers Are Needed - The Class of 2015 Senior Grad Night will take place the evening of Thursday, June 4. Seniors will check in at Ayers Gym at 7:30 p.m., be whisked off to a secret location, and return by 3 a.m. Volunteers are needed to help chaperone the evening's events from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. and to help at check-in from 7:30 to 9 p.m. To join the team, please contact Lexi Bisbee, Maria Hilton, or Laurie Knox at gradnight@mabearspta.org. You do not need to be the parent of a senior to help. This is a fun night for M-A's graduates and your last chance to see the Class of 2015 as a group!

Please note that there will be very little time between the end of the graduation ceremony and Grad Night check-in, so please plan your family celebration accordingly. More details to follow at the senior meeting on Wednesday, April 29. Ticket sales will begin in May.

Proposed PTA Slate for 2015-2016 - The Nominating Committee is pleased to propose the following slate of officers for the 2015-16 academic year. We will vote on the slate Tuesday, April 28 at the PTA general meeting.

Co-Presidents	Terri Muschott and Kim Steere
Co-Vice Presidents	Taylor Perkins and Dori Britts
Treasurer	Cecilia Pinto
Financial Secretary	Susan Chung
Secretary	Lubov Filonova
Auditor	Dianne Child
Parliamentarian	Juliana Anderson
SDMSC Representative	Shari Conrad

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Foundation News

Auction Parties -- It's Not Too Late!

There are a few open spots for Sign-Up Parties and which will stay open until Monday, April 13 at 4 a.m. Be sure to grab a friend and sign-up for some of the amazing events offered. Don't miss your chance to ride to the ridge, have lunch with the principal, or tip one back at the Gin Party. Check out all the offerings on the Foundation's auction website. All proceeds directly benefit M-A students.

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Parent Education

Parenting the Always-On Generation

with Gloria Moskowitz-Sweet and Erica Pelavin, My Digital TAT2

Wednesday, April 15

7 - 8:30 p.m., Sequoia High School, MPR

Please register at Eventbrite.

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? Please join Gloria Moskowitz-Sweet and Erica Pelavin for an interactive workshop on "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.

Growing and Nurturing a Reader: Demystifying Young Adult Literature

with Sharon Levin

Wednesday, April 29

10 to 11:30 a.m., Sequoia Library (Fireplace Room)

Please register at Eventbrite.

Young adult literature is one of the fastest growing demographics in publishing today. Much has been written about how dark or scary it is. But is it really? Why do teens like it? What are teens reading and enjoying? How do you find good books and how do you keep your overscheduled teen interested in reading? Join young adult book reviewer Sharon Levin as she takes you through numerous titles and demystifies what young adult literature is all about. Participants will come away with a very long list of book suggestions as well as the opportunity to win free books for teens (and adults).

Sequoia Parent Education Series events are sponsored by the Sequoia High School Education Foundation (SHSEF), the Sequoia Healthcare District, and the Sequoia Union High School District.

Helping Young Athletes Reach Their Potential

What Does Research Tell Us?
with Steve Smith, PhD., Palo Alto University

Thursday, May 7

7 to 8:30 PAC Cafeteria

Please register at Eventbrite.

Parents often struggle with the dilemma of how to support their children in healthy sport participation. The balance between sports, academics, arts, and downtime can present a challenge, as families work to find what experiences will best prepare their children for the future. In this workshop, Dr. Smith will review current research and provide guidelines for parents and coaches to consider for healthy sport participation.

Dr. Steve Smith is a licensed psychologist and professor of clinical psychology in the PGSP-Stanford PsyD Consortium of Palo Alto University. He served as the consulting psychologist for the Division I Department of Intercollegiate Athletics at UCSB.

M-A Parent Education events are sponsored by the M-A PTA, the Sequoia Healthcare District, and SUHSD. Simultaneous Spanish translation will be available.

Get Connected! Talking to Your Teen About Sexual Health
with Perryn Reis and Abi Resnick-Karlin from Health Connected

Wednesday, May 6

10 a.m. to 12 p.m., SUHSD Birch Room

Join us for the final event in the SUHSD Parent Education Mini-Series to address teenage risky behaviors. Talking about sexual health can be one of the most difficult and anxiety-provoking parenting tasks. Join Health Connected (formerly Teen Talk Sexuality Education), the SUHSD's provider of comprehensive sexuality education, in a fun and interactive workshop to learn how you can create an environment of comfort and trust with your children to discuss their emerging sexuality. Get tips on how to talk about sexuality in the context of your family's values about sex and relationships and create clear boundaries for your children while allowing them to explore this important developmental milestone.

The Parent Education Mini-Series is sponsored by the Sequoia Healthcare District and the Sequoia Union High School District.

All parent education events are free and open to the public. For more information on any of these events, please contact Charlene Margot, M.A., The Parent Education Series, Founding Director, at cmargot@csmconsulting.net or 650-868-0590. For Spanish, contact Mayela Ramirez, Parent Center Coordinator, 650-369-1411, ext. 63105.

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Athletics

Get in the Race!

10th Annual Big Bear Run

Sunday, May 3 at 9 a.m.

GET IN THE RACE - Join Boosters for a fun-filled morning to benefit M-A Athletics. Rally your friends, come to compete, or simply show your school spirit!

GET REGISTERED - Online registration at Active.com. Prices are:

Until Thursday, April 30	$18 for students, $28 for adults
After Thursday, April 30 - Race Day	$20 for students, $30 for adults

M-A Students - Run the race and get into the drawing for some amazing prizes!

GET INTO VOLUNTEERING - M-A needs your help on race day! Sign up to help and get a cute volunteer shirt. Volunteer jobs include tent set-up, food, finish line, course monitors, registration, water table, and so on. Note that you can volunteer early and still run the race. To volunteer, please email Maryellen McCabe at ccmccabe2@aol.com.

Check out the Athletics Calendar!

Weekly Sports Wrap-Up

Badminton - This week M-A beat Woodside at home. #1 Boys Singles (Terrence Woo) won 21-18, 21-19. #1 Girls Singles (Molly Davis) won 21-4, 21-10. #1 Boys Doubles (Paul Tikther and Justin Ca) won 21-17, 21-19. #1 Girls Doubles (Ashley Utz and Misato Muraoka) won 21-6, 21-13. #1 Mixed Doubles (Erin Sanchez and Trenton Hall won 21-12, 21-12.

Track and Field - Yesterday was quite the day for the Bears at Serra. With many athletes competing, we saw some great performances. The girls won the invitational meet of over 20 teams with a whopping 131 points, more points than the 2nd and 3rd place teams combined. This is the 3rd straight year the girls have won the meet! The boys also had a strong showing placing 6th out of more than 25 teams. Below are some of the most impressive performances.

Olivia Shane placed 3rd in the 800 with a time of 2:28.22 (11th in school history).
Cat Depuy finished 2nd in the 1600 and 800. Her 5:21.58 in the 1600 was an 8 second PR and moves her to 7th best in school history.
Annie Harrier won the 400 with a new PR of 58.70, which moves her up to 7th place in M-A history. She finished 2nd in the 200 and anchored the girls 4x100 (Diamond Hawkins, Kathryn Mohr, Charlotte Schroeder) relay to a first place finish.
Annalisa Crowe won the 800 and 1600 as well as anchoring the 4x400 team with Harrier, Shane, and Depuy to a 2nd place finish.
Kathryn Mohr won the 100 and pole vaulted 12'0 to break her own school record!
Kalina Zanelli won the high jump for the 2nd year in a row. She set a PR with a terrific jump of 5'3 which moves her to 4th place in M-A history.
Adam Scandlyn won the 1600 and the 800. His time of 4:22.98 in the 1600 places him 5th in school history and his 800 time of 1:58.37 is good for 9th all time. He also anchored the 4x400 team to a 4th place finish, which means Adam accounted for 24 of M-A's 33 points!
Rohan Depuy had a fast 800 race, running 2:00.71 and placing 5th. The time places Rohan 12th in school history.
Kevin Conrad ran a PR of 4:41.36 in the 1600 which moves Kevin to 15th in school history.
Andrew Tan and Scott MacDonald ran huge PR's in the 3200. Their times of 11:16.39 and 11:13.73, respectively, were more than 15 seconds faster than their previous races.

Varsity Softball - The Bears had a tough week, losing twice. On Tuesday, the Bears fell to Mills. In spite of good play in the field and solid pitching by Emily Katz, who struck out 8, the Bears' bats were quiet in the 10-0 shutout. The offensive star was Erin Goode, who went 2 for 2 (single and double) with a walk, reaching base safely all 3 times. The only other hits came from Molly Katz, with a double, and E. Katz and Yesenia Garcia with singles. On Thursday, the Bears lost to El Camino High School for the first time in four years. E. Katz struck out 7, but the Colts were able to string together lucky hits and errors to score 10 over 7 innings. Once again, the Bears struggled at the plate. E. Katz provided both runs, with a home run in the fourth and an RBI double in the sixth. The only other hits were singles by Sarah Tiemann, M. Katz, and Delilah Kline, and the Bears ended up on the wrong side of a 10-2 score. Next week, the Bears travel to Half Moon Bay on Monday, April 13 and to San Mateo on Wednesday, April 15.

Varsity Baseball - The team played 3 tough games this week taking 2 wins and 1 loss. The Bears took care of Sequoia on Wednesday afternoon behind the strong pitching of Matt McGarry. McGarry was on from the first pitch, and held the bats of the Cherokees to just 6 hits and 1 earned run. In route to his complete game win, his command was excellent while striking out 9 and walking only 1. The offense had many stars as the Bears put together 7 runs on 10 hits. Evan Easton and McGarry each scored 2 runs, while Matthew Johnston drove in 3 runs on 2 hits. Tyler Koo also had 2 hits for the Bears while driving in a run and scoring a run. AJ Lemons had a big RBI single to keep a rally moving, while Nicolai Terran also had a single and RBI. Shortstop Nick Prainito had a big day as well, with a monster home run over the left center field fence. Defensively, the Bears played one of their best games, committing no errors. The Bears turned two 4-6-3 double plays (Easton to Prainito to Bret Rodrigues).

The Bears suffered a tough loss on Thursday afternoon to Sequoia on the road. Up 6-1, through 5 innings, M-A was unable to hold on and lost 7-6 on walk off single in the bottom of the seventh. Kodiak Conrad threw a gem for 5 innings mixing a fastball, change up and devastating curve which kept the Cherokee hitters off balance. Conrad struck out 6 while walking 3, and gave up only 1 earned run. The offense was led by Johnston who had 2 hits, 2 RBIs, and scored a run. Easton scored 2 runs and had a single, as did McGarry, Lemons, and Koo. Prainito and Terran each had two baggers for the Bears. Kennedy Ojeda also scored a run.

Lemons was in complete control Saturday afternoon, with command of all his pitches. Going 6 strong innings, Lemons struck out 7 and walked no Wildcat batters, while giving up only 1 earned run. Nick Olson threw a good seventh inning in relief. Offensively, the Bears broke out early with 4 runs in the first inning, and then scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh on a walk off single by McGarry. The rally in the bottom of the seventh started with a great at bat by Brian Coggins who drew a walk after battling some tough pitches. Lead-off hitter Easton continued to swing a hot bat with 2 more hits (1B, 2B), as did Prainito, who also had a two-hit day with a single and a double. McGarry and Daniel K-G also had two-hit games, with McGarry driving in 3 runs on the day. Koo and K-G had the other 2 RBIs. Johnston also had a line drive base hit. On defense there were several fantastic plays. Tarran made 2 great plays at third base, while left fielder Max Gardiner made a spectacular diving catch to save the go ahead run from scoring in the top of the seventh. K-G stopped several balls behind the plate saving some runs in the process.

Boys Varsity Tennis - With victories over Burlingame and second-place Aragon last week, the Bears clinched the PAL title for the 7th straight year! With wins in the final two matches this week, M-A will end the PAL season undefeated for the 6th time in the last 7 years. Against Aragon, the Bears blanked the Dons, 7-0, without dropping a set. Against Burlingame, M-A also recorded a shutout, 7-0, and did not give up more than 2 games in any of the 14 sets.

Posting wins last week were Reed Fratt, Casey Morris, Axel Brenner, Jeffrey Jorgensen, Danny LaPorte, Alex Iyer, Zach Novak, Noah Milman, Camillo Saueressig, Ajay Shah, Jackson MacDonell, Eric Laderman, Nishant Relan, and Tyler Ellingson. This week, the boys conclude the regular season by hosting San Mateo on Tuesday, April 14 at 4 p.m. and traveling to Woodside on Thursday, April 16 at 4 p.m. Thank you to all who showed up and supported the Bears in their title-clinching match.

Girls Varsity Lacrosse - On Tuesday, M-A faced Sequoia in the inaugural meeting between the programs. M-A went on two 4-0 runs to take a 11-4 first-half lead. The Bears were lead by Grace Tully, who scored 4 goals, and Sally Carlson, who scored 3 and had 2 assists. In the second half, the Bears defense, led by Morgan Corona, Gianna Prainito, and Cathrine Petersen, limited the Cherokees to 1 goal, as M-A put the game away 17-5. Also scoring for the Bears were Annie Payne (2), Izzy Regonini (2), Emma Roellig (2), Amanda Wiseman (2), Emma Easton (1), and Lauren McGinnis (1). With their fourth straight dominating road victory, the Bears improved to 9-3 on the season. This week the Bears play two home games: against Burlingame on Tuesday, April 14 and Sacred Heart Prep on Friday, April 17. Both games start at 4 p.m.

Boys JV Volleyball - On Tuesday, the Bears hosted 50 players from Lowell but were not intimidated. The first set was well played with key blocks and kills from Captain Noah Shermis, Tim Anderson, Collin Shen and Lukas Rash. Setters Ryan Le and Guiann Lacbayan controlled the offense and provided strong serving. The Bears won the first set 25-19. The second set started even and at one point Lowell took the lead and kept it. Key digs and hits from Andrew Baigoria, Peter Tran, Conner Brisebois and Spencer Montague-Alamin helped bring the Bears back into the game. The Bears won the match in straight sets. Next up is an away match against Kings-Academy on Wednesday, April 15.

Boys Varsity Volleyball - This week the Bears earned 2 more victories to improve their overall record to 7-7, an impressive feat for a first-year program. On Tuesday, Mills came to M-A, but the smaller Vikings team could build little momentum trying to hit past the Bears' front row blockers. The Bears won 3-0, never allowing Mills to score more than 20 points in a set.

Friday's 3-2 triumph over The King's Academy was anything but routine, as the Bears proved that they could overcome a slow start and pull out a gutsy win. M-A lacked energy in the first two games, handing the Knights 23 free points through unforced errors and losing by scores of 19-25 and 17-25. Motivated to prove that they were better than they'd played in the opening sets, the Bears fought off a match point for the Knights to win the third game 28-26. The turning point of the match came in the fourth game when junior Edward Falefa smashed one of his 30 kills off of the face of an opponent who did not have time to react. When the match resumed after M-A's trainers checked on the injured player, all of the energy had shifted to the Bears. With upperclassmen in a hurry to get to prom and telling the team to make every point count, M-A completed the comeback by winning games 4 and 5 by scores of 25-15 and 15-11 respectively. On offense, Schuyler Knapp had 45 assists to Falefa (30 kills), Ryan Cole had 8 kills, and Laki Fonua had 4 kills. The Bears had one of their better matches defensively, led by Falefa (16 digs), Knapp (14 digs), Weintz (8 digs), Eddie Ives (5 digs), Troy Sweetnam (4 digs), and Fonua (3 blocks).

This Tuesday, April 14 the Bears will look to push their winning percentage over .500 for the first time in a 4:30 p.m. game at San Mateo.

Swimming and Diving - Varsity girls notched another PAL win this week over Carlmont (113-58). Individual races were won by Faith Dunn (200 free and 100 breast), Sophia Murff (200 IM and 100 back), and Claire Haldeman (500 free and 100 fly). The girls dominated the relays with wins in the 200 medley (Murff, Dunn, Haldeman, and Kate Denand), the 200 free relay (Maddie Worden, Alexa Finn, Denand and Mary Lane) and the 400 free relay (Lane, Haldeman, Dunn and Murff). Varsity girls are 4-0 in PAL league competition and look strong going into next week's meet against Aragon.

Varsity boys fell to Carlmont (94-76). Zachary Goland won his two individual races (200 free and 500 free). The 200 free relay was won by Gordon Williams, Goland, Matheus Santos, and Alex Hakanson, with a time of 1:32.92. Varsity boys are now 3-1 in PAL competition. Williams had some stiff competition in the 200 IM and 100 fly, but managed to pick up CCS times for those events this week. The Bears move on to face Aragon with a home meet on Thursday, April 16. Come out and support the Aqua Bears!

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Community News

Magic The Gathering Club - You asked, and we listened! There is a new club in Teen Services at the library for 12 to 18 years old - Magic The Gathering! The club will tentatively meet the third Friday of each month with the first meeting on Friday, April 17 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. No registration is required. Meet on the patio and start to play. Cards will not be provided, nor will staff be chaperoning.

Teen Spring Book Club Meeting - Join other book lovers (12-18 years old) at a themed book party on Saturday, May 2 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. to discuss The Young World by Chris Weitz. Register for the Book Club on the Teen Library webpage.

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Quote of the Week

When there is an income tax, the just man will pay more and the unjust man will pay less on the same amount of income.

~ Plato

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