Woodside High School Newsletter www.woodsidehs.org Communicat is published as a courtesy of the Woodside High School Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) Changes – Past and Present Dear WHS families: Arena check-ins, back-to-school night, and the opening of the new J wing are in the rear view mirror, and now I am looking forward to cooler mornings, Homecoming, the Foundation’s annual campaign, annual College Day, the end of the first quarter on October 13, and the end of daylight savings time on Sunday, November 5th. And it's not too early to mark your household calendar for first semester finals: December 18 – 21 (Mon, Tue, Wed, and Thur). Teachers do not give early finals, so book and re-check your winter break plans accordingly. Check for the semester finals schedule on our website. Over the last two years, we have gathered on-campus data on student stress and ability to sleep, complete homework, and engage in activities (both on and off campus) through our 8 Conditions of Student Success surveys and focus groups. Last fall, we had a 10-person team of students, parents, staff, and an administrator participating in the Challenge Success conferences at Stanford about redefining success for students. WHS has had the policy of no homework over the semester break in December, and that is still the case. This 10-person team proposed a no-homework policy over Thanksgiving weekend, the new February break, and the traditional spring break as well. Last May, our Shared Decision Making Council (SDMC) approved the extension of the no homework policy to additional breaks. What that means is that teachers can not collect homework for the first two days upon a return from the above breaks. We believe that downtime (whether it's a good night's sleep, a balanced course schedule, or no homework breaks) is as important as academic time and think this policy will improve your student's experience as a Wildcat. The addition of a SAMTRANS route #78 from the Emerald Hills area along with the new bike racks on campus has made commuting to campus more attractive. Plus, the opening of the Alameda entrance bus circle alleviates traffic at the Churchill entrance. Growing enrollment and staff means parking is impacted. Please remind your student drivers not to park in the neighborhoods and to visit the AVP offices for a parking permit. The best advice around any school (and particular a school with new drivers!) is slow down and be patient. Go WILDCATS! Diane Burbank, Principal October/November Events For a full listing of Woodside High events, visit the website at www.woodsidehs.org/-calendar/. Tuesday, Oct. 3 ELAC Meeting 6:30 pm, Library Wednesday, Oct. 4 Music Boosters Meeting 7 pm, Band Room and SAAP Parent Project 5:30 pm, MUR Thursday, Oct. 5 Talent Show 7 pm, PAC Saturday Oct. 7 SAT Reasoning & Subject Tests and Music Dept. RWC Port Fest Monday, Oct. 9—Sat. Oct. 14 Homecoming Week Monday, Oct. 9 SSC/SDMC 4-6 pm, MUR Conf. Rm. and PTSA Meeting 7 pm, MUR Conf. Rm. Tuesday, Oct. 10 WHS Foundation Meeting 7 pm, MUR Conf. Rm. Wednesday, Oct. 11 College Day—Minimum Day Friday, Oct. 13 End of 1st Quarter Saturday, Oct. 14 Homecoming Dance 7:30 pm—10:30 pm, New Gym Tuesday, Oct. 17 WHSF Auction mtg. 7 pm, Wildcat Room (Continued on page 2) Adentro encontrara traducción al español las noticias de la ad- ministración de WHS October 2017 From Principal Diane Burbank
Transcript
Woodside High School Newsletter www.woodsidehs.org
Communicat is published as a courtesy of the Woodside High School Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA)
Changes – Past and Present
Dear WHS families:
Arena check-ins, back-to-school night, and the
opening of the new J wing are in the rear view
mirror, and now I am looking forward to cooler
mornings, Homecoming, the Foundation’s annual
campaign, annual College Day, the end of the first
quarter on October 13, and the end of daylight
savings time on Sunday, November 5th. And it's not too early to mark your
household calendar for first semester finals: December 18 – 21 (Mon, Tue, Wed,
and Thur). Teachers do not give early finals, so book and re-check your winter
break plans accordingly. Check for the semester finals schedule on our website.
Over the last two years, we have gathered on-campus data
on student stress and ability to sleep, complete homework,
and engage in activities (both on and off campus) through
our 8 Conditions of Student Success surveys and focus
groups. Last fall, we had a 10-person team of students,
parents, staff, and an administrator participating in the
Challenge Success conferences at Stanford about redefining
success for students. WHS has had the policy of no
homework over the semester break in December, and that is
still the case. This 10-person team proposed a no-homework policy over
Thanksgiving weekend, the new February break, and the traditional spring break
as well. Last May, our Shared Decision Making Council (SDMC) approved the
extension of the no homework policy to additional breaks. What that means is
that teachers can not collect homework for the
first two days upon a return from the above
breaks. We believe that downtime (whether it's
a good night's sleep, a balanced course
schedule, or no homework breaks) is as
important as academic time and think this
policy will improve your student's experience
as a Wildcat.
The addition of a SAMTRANS route #78 from the
Emerald Hills area along with the new bike racks on
campus has made commuting to campus more
attractive. Plus, the opening of the Alameda entrance
bus circle alleviates traffic at the Churchill entrance.
Growing enrollment and staff means parking is
impacted. Please remind your student drivers not to park in the neighborhoods
and to visit the AVP offices for a parking permit. The best advice around any
school (and particular a school with new drivers!) is slow down and be patient.
Go WILDCATS!
Diane Burbank, Principal
October/November Events
For a full listing of Woodside High
events, visit the website at
www.woodsidehs.org/-calendar/.
Tuesday, Oct. 3
ELAC Meeting
6:30 pm, Library
Wednesday, Oct. 4
Music Boosters Meeting
7 pm, Band Room
and
SAAP Parent Project
5:30 pm, MUR
Thursday, Oct. 5
Talent Show
7 pm, PAC
Saturday Oct. 7
SAT Reasoning & Subject Tests
and
Music Dept. RWC Port Fest
Monday, Oct. 9—Sat. Oct. 14
Homecoming Week
Monday, Oct. 9
SSC/SDMC
4-6 pm, MUR Conf. Rm.
and
PTSA Meeting
7 pm, MUR Conf. Rm.
Tuesday, Oct. 10
WHS Foundation Meeting
7 pm, MUR Conf. Rm.
Wednesday, Oct. 11
College Day—Minimum Day
Friday, Oct. 13
End of 1st Quarter
Saturday, Oct. 14
Homecoming Dance
7:30 pm—10:30 pm, New Gym
Tuesday, Oct. 17
WHSF Auction mtg.
7 pm, Wildcat Room
(Continued on page 2)
Adentro encontrara traducción al español las noticias de la ad-ministración de WHS
October 2017
From Principal
Diane Burbank
2 October 2017 Communicat
Cambios – Pasado y Presente
Estimadas Familias de WHS:
El Proceso de Inscripción (Arena check-ins),
la noche de regreso a la escuela y la apertura
de la nueva Ala J quedaron en el pasado, y
ahora espero con interés mañanas frías, el
evento Homecoming, la campaña anual de la
Fundación, el Día de Colegio anual, terminar
el primer cuarto de semestre el 13 de octubre y el cambio de horario el do-
mingo, 5 de noviembre. Y no es muy pronto para marcar en el calendario
del hogar las fechas de los exámenes finales del primer semestre: 18-21 de
diciembre (lunes, martes, miércoles y jueves). Los maestros no dan los
exámenes finales antes, por lo tanto compre y re revise sus planes de acuer-
do con las vacaciones de invierno. Revise el horario de los exámenes fina-
les en nuestra página web.
Durante los dos últimos años, nosotros reunimos datos
en la escuela sobre el estrés del estudiante y la habili-
dad para dormir, completar tarea y participar en activi-
dades (dentro y fuera de la escuela) a través de una
encuesta para el éxito del estudiante de nuestras 8 Con-
diciones y grupos de enfoque. El pasado otoño, tuvi-
mos un equipo de 10 personas de estudiantes, padres,
personal y un administrador participando en las confe-
rencias Challenge Success en Stanford acerca de la
redefinición del éxito para los estudiantes. WHS ha tenido la política de no
dejar tareas durante las vacaciones del semestre en diciembre, y eso se si-
gue haciendo. Este equipo de 10 personas propuso una política de no tareas
durante el fin de semana de Thanksgiving, y también durante las nuevas
vacaciones de febrero y las tradicionales vacaciones de primavera. El pasa-
do mayo, el Consejo para la Toma de Decisiones (SDMC) aprobó la exten-
sión de la política de no dejar tareas durante las vacaciones adicionales. Lo
que significa es que los maestros no pueden recoger tareas los dos primeros
días después del regreso de las vacaciones antes mencionadas. Creemos que
el tiempo de inactividad (ya sea una buena noche de sueño, horario balan-
ceado de clases o no tarea durante las vacaciones) es tan importante como
el tiempo académico y pensamos que esta política mejorará la experiencia
de su estudiante como Gato Salvaje.
La adición de la ruta #78 de un SAMTRANS
desde el área de Emerald Hills junto con los
señalamientos de la ruta para bicicletas ha he-
cho que viajar a la escuela sea más atractivo.
Además, la apertura del círculo para el camión
escolar por la entrada de Alameda ha aliviado el
tráfico por la entrada de Churchill. El aumento
de inscripciones y del personal significa que el estacionamiento es impacta-
do. Por favor recuérdeles a sus estudiantes que manejan no estacionarse en
los vecindarios y que acudan a las oficinas de los subdirectores por un per-
miso para estacionarse. El mejor consejo alrededor de cualquier escuela (y
en particular una escuela con nuevos conductores!) es ir despacio y tener
paciencia.
Vamos GATOS SALVAJES! (WILDCATS!)
La Directora, Diane Burbank
De la Directora
Diane Burbank
Wednesday, Oct. 18
SAAP Parent Project
5:30 pm, MUR
Thursday, Oct. 19
College Info Night
9th-11th students & parents
7 pm, MUR
Saturday, Oct. 21
WHS Music Depart. Band @ Santa Cruz
Monday, Oct. 23
SSC/SDMC
4-6 pm, MUR Conf. Rm.
Wednesday, Oct. 25
Drama Boosters
7 pm, Wildcat Room
and
SAAP Parent Project
5:30 pm, MUR
Friday, Oct. 27
Athletic Registration Deadline for Winter
Sports
Saturday, Oct. 28
ACT Test
Monday, Oct. 30
Winter sports practices begin
Tuesday Oct. 31
Music Dept. @ Selby Lane School
Wednesday, Nov. 1
SAAP Parent Project
5:30 pm., MUR
and
Music Boosters
7 pm, Band Room
Saturday, Nov. 4
SAT Reasoning & Subject Tests
Monday, Nov. 6
PTSA Mtg.
7 pm, MUR Conf. Rm.
Tuesday, Nov. 7
ELAC mtg.
6:30 pm, Library
Wednesday, Nov. 8
SAAP Parent Project
5:30 pm, MUR
and
7th/8th Grade Information Night
7 pm, PAC
Friday, Nov. 10
No School
(Continued from page 1)
(Continued on page 6)
October 2017 Communicat 3
“ ”
“ ” SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT: Being recognized for many different types of
success, including hard work. (WHS “8 Conditions” of student success)
Wildcats in the News: Semifinalists in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program
Allison Bhavsar, Mollie Kraus, Laurel Woods, and Pearl Zhou have been named
National Merit Semifinalists. More than 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high
schools entered the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program by taking the 2016 SAT/National Merit Scholarship
Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which served as the initial screening for program entrants. National Merit Semifinalists
score in the top one percent of students nationally on the PSAT taken in October of their junior year. The Woodside High
School Community is proud of Allison, Mollie, Laurel, and Pearl!
National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP)
The National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP) was initiated in 1983, by the College
Board to identify outstanding Hispanic high school students and to share information about
these academically well-prepared students with subscribing colleges and universities. Every
year, the NHRP recognizes about 5,000 of the highest scoring students from a nationwide total
of 250,000 Hispanic/Latino high school juniors who take the test.
WHS is pleased to announce that the following WHS students have been recognized by the National Hispanic Recognition
Program: Justin Orellana and Lauren Chambers
CONFIDENCE TO TAKE ACTION – Setting goals and taking the steps you need to reach them. (WHS “8
Conditions” of Student Success)
Get Ready for College Day, October 11, 2017
More than 950 WHS 10th and 11th grade students will take the PSAT/NMSQT exam on Wednesday, October 11, 2017,
free of charge, as part of WHS College Day 2017.
Why Take the PSAT?
The PSAT/NMSQT allows you to:
Enter the National Merit Scholarship competitions for recognition and
scholarships (grade 11)
Access My College Quick Start, a personalized college and career planning resource
Request information from colleges and universities
Receive feedback on your strengths and weaknesses on skills necessary for college, so you can improve your
preparatory work
Appraise your critical reading, mathematical reasoning and writing skills
Practice for the SAT
Would you like to take a PSAT practice test and review sample questions? Go to the following link:
Football-Basketball tickets, program sponsors (net of costs) $ 15.5k
Crab Feed Income (net of expenses) $ 6.5k
Hit a Thon income (net of expenses) $ 7.9k
Golf Tournament (net of expenses) $ 6.6k
Total $ 167.1k
Expenses
ABO Grants to Athletic Department and Teams ($ 66.3k)
Team Directed Donations (Above donations passed thru to teams) ($ 69.2k)
Donation expenses (production of signage, programs, ads/promo) ($ 5.6k)
COGS (Spirit wear, including resupply order for spring) ($ 20.3k)
Office expenses (Bookkeeping, web software, Tax prep, other) ($ 10.0k)
Bank charges (credit card transaction charges) ($ 2.2k)
Athletics awards and gifts ($ 2.7k)
Scholarships ($ 4.0k)
Total ($180.3k)
Year Ending Bank Balance $ 51.3k
Where Does the Money Come From, and Go To?
16-17 was our first year using the team-directed request (family donation)
model where every penny of these donations is passed directly to the teams. This
typically provides a team with funding toward expenses such as jerseys/warmups/
gear-bags, balls & consumables, tournament fees, etc. We had exceptional
participation, defined as an athlete’s parent gives something, from some sports at
80-100% (Golf, Waterpolo, Volleyball, Track/XC). Other sports’ participation
was OK at 30-50%, and others can do much better. We hope for at least 50%
participation by parents on behalf of their athletes for ALL sports this year. Sports
whose parents did not contribute much also did not request much from the ABO in
terms of grants. We hope to increase our support by working closely with all
coaches this year! (Continued on page 10)
10 October 2017 Communicat
Parents appreciated coordination of team-directed requests to the start of each sport’s season. They understood what the
coach needed, and how the funds will be used. $69.2k was donated by families in response to these team-directed
requests.
A second, but equally crucial source of money, are ABO Grants, which come from funds raised by the ABO (sale of
Spirit wear, fundraising events, season ticket sales, sponsor’s signage). These funds are separate from the team
donations. These typically help or fully pay for major items like new wrestling mats and volleyball nets/antennae, soccer
and water polo goals/nets, pitching or hitting machines, replacement Football pads/helmets/safety & field-equipment, and
the electronic timing system for Track & Field. Without the ABO’s help, our sports teams WOULD NOT have these
items. The district’s funding is limited and there simply isn’t money to cover these items. ABO Grants provided almost
$60k in additional funds toward requests made by the teams.
Importantly, the ABO again provided financing to permit purchase of big ticket items with long lead times, ahead of any
opportunity for teams to fundraise specifically for those needs. This ensured the equipment or resources would be
available to the teams on time, as their season began.
Finally, teams who, by the nature of the sport, have particularly high expenses or require a particularly expensive piece
of equipment (Football, Lacrosse, Track, Softball, Baseball as examples) may also ask their players reach out directly to
their friends and extended family networks, with additional crowd sourced fundraising. The ABO strives to coordinate
with teams on these efforts, to keep families informed and to provide clarity on who is doing what and why.
One final but very important request. PLEASE, visit the ABO website at www.woodsideathletics.org and REGISTER (or
update for this year) your family’s account. This allows us to run much more efficiently, minimizes errors, and permits
you to track your various donations and purchases over the year.
Get involved, support YOUR athletes, and let’s have another great year. Go ‘Cats!
The ABO Board
(Continued from page 9)
Connect with Woodside!
Inspire a student - Help students and young people grow.
Build a strong community - Increase morale within your company and with your neighbors.
Promote your industry – Develop your future workforce with local employees
3 Easy ways to accomplish this:
Be a guest speaker in Engineering 1 or Computer Science 1 classes
Connect your company with WHS: Most corporations encourage their employees to volunteer at local organizations that their employees care about. You might be surprised to find others at your company who are looking for a local volunteer opportunity, but don't always know what's available. Let us know who to contact and we will work with your community relations, community engagement or other corporate volunteer resource.
Be a career mentor to a student in either the Business Technology Academy, Green Academy or Engineering II class - Want to make a difference in a teenager's life? Had a mentor that impacted you? Woodside High School is looking for mentors to share career information with juniors. Easy communication through email, phone and in person has a lasting impact on a student. Program kicks off November 2
nd.
Contact Faith Velschow, Director or Mentoring and Career Services, at [email protected]
