San Mateo High School

In Contact Dec 2016

In this Issue Principal’s Letter Yvonne Shiu

Principal’s Letter Renaissance Holiday Greetings, San Mateo Families! Bearcat Award I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving recess; just enough time to rest up for the Luncheon home stretch. Another semester is flying by! Counseling News This year we celebrated our “Legacy” faculty and staff members. PTO President’s Please congratulate the follow people for their longevity in serving the San Letter Mateo High School Community! News from: Art Department Miguel Appleman-25 years Drama Boosters Til Tribuzi-25 years SMHS Foundation Sara Cowey-25 years Lisa Burke-26 years Brad Friedman-25 years Sally Seebode-28 years Ruth Micheletti-25 years Olaiha Fonua-40 years

Olaiha has announced that he will be retiring at the end of this school year. We wish him well as he moves on to another phase in his life!

At the end of October, the SMHS Foundation (SMHSF) hosted our 12th Annual Bearcat Benefit! A wonderful time was had by all. Most importantly the SMHSF is starting its long-term project of eventually replacing our LCD projectors with 75” flat screen televisions and upgrading our document cameras. Four teachers will receive theirs by the end of this semester, with another four next semester. Also, due to your generosity, we will have more Chromebooks available for check out. If your student is in needed of a Chromebook to complete assignments, do research, check Schoolloop.com, etc. Please have them come see me for a contract. Students can check out a Chromebook, just as they would a library book, but will be responsible for a $400 replacement fee if lost or stolen.

Our fall sports teams were competitive until the end! Congratulations to:  Varsity Football for making the first round of CCS for the first time since 2009; unfortunately they were defeated by Westmont who went on to win the Division and made it to the finals.

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 Girls’ Tennis Doubles, Emily Chan and Lauren Young, who won the PAL Doubles title and went on to CCS only to be defeated in the Quarter Finals by the doubles who went on to the Finals.  Girls’ Tennis Team for making it to the 2nd Round of CCS Tennis Championships. The Girls’ Tennis Team finished 29-2 with the best tennis finish and 1st CCS appearance in over 20 years!  Girls’ Volleyball Team for making it to the CCS Quarter Finals by beating Westmont in the 1st round and having a strong game vs Lynbrook in the quarter finals, eventually falling in 5 sets.

Now we are into our winter sports season, so join us for a basketball quad, a soccer and/or wrestling match. Just check our website for more details. The installation of stadium lights and sound system has begun. They are currently drilling for the poles which are in the process of being manufactured. The project is set to be completed by early March. As you may have been reading, the SMUHSD is looking at starting school later, at least 30 minutes, for the 2017-18 school year. It will be on the School Board agenda for Thursday, December 15th, so if you have any questions, concerns or opinions you would like to share, please join us. Congratulations to our students for meeting their CFD goal! Over 104,000 pounds was collected/raised. Go Bearcats!

I wish you and your families a wonderful and restful holiday season! See you in the new year!

Counseling News - Jesse Boise

Enrollment As of 11/17/16 there are 1,643 students taking classes at SMHS. San Mateo HS is currently the largest school in the district. We are proud of each of our students and pleased that our school continues to grow!

Advanced Placement Tests SMHS is proud to share that SMHS students continue to excel on Advanced Placement Exams. Last year, students took AP Exams in 25 different curricular areas. The table below outlines the growth and success of our students enrolled in AP classes. Way to go! 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total SMHS AP Students 259 357 416 412 454 452 451 Number of Exams 577 719 889 859 927 957 949 % of Total AP Students with Scores 3+ 85.7 79.6 79.1 81.1 79.1 80.1 78.4

PSAT NEWS: The PSAT was administered to all 10th and 11th grade students on Wednesday, October 19th. Results will be received at the school and distributed to students shortly after the winter recess. Mr. Hanson, our College and Financial Aid Advisor, will be working with students to better understand their scores and help identify with them how they may choose to prepare for future SAT or ACT exams.

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SMHS Renaissance Bearcat Award Luncheon – Chemi Lo

On November 11, 2016, the PTO, Renaissance Leadership, and parent volunteers hosted the semi- annual Bearcat Award Luncheon in the San Mateo High School library. Ms. Shiu and Mr. Boise led the ceremony, in which 25 students were individually recognized for their outstanding achievements and contributions. Faculty and staff members nominate students for the Bearcat Award in the fall and spring. The PTO is proud to present the following students as recipients of the Fall 2016 Bearcat Award: Student Nominations Nominated By 1. Keiry Ascencio Andrea Rosenthal 2. Alejandra Astorga Michele Casale 3. Kaylee Astorga Gutierrez Corina Menendez 4. Juan Barron Aura Smithers 5. Yanyra Castillo Barraza Janine Beard and Natalie Esposto 6. Jorge Chavarin Julie Stock 7. Alejandro Cruz Barron Amy Fredricksen 8. Karla Garcia Cancio Nicole De Rosa 9. Trinidad Gudino Manzo Cindy Braganza 10. Josseft Hernandez Hernandez Georgiana Watson 11. Sefora Lopez Sabal Elena Ortiz 12. Rene Martinez Castillo Rotem Bluvstein 13. Sara Martinez Espinoza Arienne Adamcikova and Natalie Montoya 14. Lindsey McMahon Aliza Zenilman 15. Bhavane Nair Martin Ortega 16. Jacob Ningen James Norman 17. Jarim Noveras Bautista Patti Giamoni 18. Jennifer Palacios Brittany Dybdahl 19. Yaneth Penã Vasquez Elizabeth Yapp 20. José Perez Amy Mitchell 21. Saul Preciado-Morales Diane Termini 22. Aissa Reis Shawn Reifschneider 23. Megan Saclayan Alicia Gorgani 24. Nelson Vasquez Lopez Sarah Dunn 25. Miguel Vazquez Karla Jones

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Drama Boosters News– Lynn Madden

A Great Beginning to a Special Year Bearcat Drama’s 2016-2017 season got off to a great start with our production of , the story of rise and fall of Eva Duarte Peron, a poor girl from the streets of Argentina who, through sheer ambition, rose to the top. Audiences were treated to lively dance numbers, moving acting and vocals, colorful costumes, and an incredible set.

Thank you to our appreciative audiences and to all of the booster and parent volunteers who came together to make this show a successful beginning to a very special year.

This season we celebrate Mr. Friedman’s 25th year of teaching and directing shows at San Mateo High. Mr. Friedman shares this special occasion with our very own “Music Man” Mr. Tribuzi. On behalf of

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25 years of grateful students and Bearcat Drama families, we thank them both for their contributions and wish them a special silver anniversary!

Marching our way next is our winter musical. . We are proud to present the classic Tony-Award winning musical about a charismatic con artist named Harold Hill, who transforms a sour Iowa town into a place full of laughter, love and music. Featuring one of the best musical scores of them all, including 76 Trombones, Ya Got Trouble, Goodnight, My Someone and Till There Was You, The Music Man is the perfect destination for the whole family.

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The show will be directed by Brad Friedman, with musical direction by Til Tribuzi, choreography by Robyn Tribuzi, and featuring the San Mateo High School Marching Band. Be sure to get your tickets early. This one is sure to be a popular one with audiences of all ages!

Music Man Performance Dates and Times: Friday, January 27th 7:30 p.m. Saturday, January 28th 7:30 p.m. Sunday, January 29th 2:00 p.m.

Friday, February 3rd 7:30 p.m. Saturday, February 4th 7:30 p.m. Sunday, February 5th 2:00 p.m.

Reserved tickets: Adults: $20 Seniors/Students $15 20% discount for groups of 10 or more and SMHS Drama Boosters

Student Special Once again this year we will offer $5 general seating tickets to students in the special student section. Tickets will be on sale in the quad during lunch the week of the shows and at the theatre one hour before each show.

PTO President’s Letter - Isabelle Bushman

Welcome to our first 2016-2017 issue of In Contact newsletter, brought to you by the SMHS Bearcat PTO. The PTO (Parent and Teacher Organization) provides support to SMHS students, parents, teachers and staff. We host recognition events for students, as well as adult supporters of the school, staff appreciation events, parent education speakers, provide scholarships to graduating seniors, provide planners for students, organize volunteers for school events and much more. This Thanksgiving, as I was thinking about everything I am grateful for, the Bearcat Family was on my list. On behalf of the PTO, I want to say a special thank you to all who volunteer at SMHS. Your time and energy are appreciated and help make our programs possible. I also want to thank those who have joined the PTO and financially contributed to our organization. Without your help, we wouldn't have the resources to do all the great things we do for our school. Our Bearcat community is amazing. We are lucky to have wonderful administrators, great teachers and staff, awesome students and an amazing parent and community base. All of these combined truly make San Mateo High School the "world's greatest high school". If you have any questions about how you can get involved, please feel free to email me at [email protected]

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or suggestions for the PTO.

Contact us - [email protected] Follow us on Facebook: SMHS PTO

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San Mateo High School Foundation – Harini Krishnan

BEARCAT BENEFIT 2016: A MASQUERADE EVENING BEYOND COMPARE!

The San Mateo High School Foundation's 12th Bearcat Benefit, Bearcat Masquerade, held on October 29th at the breathtaking Bayview Dining Room at the was a truly unforgettable Masquerade Evening Beyond Compare!

Nearly 200 Bearcat community members came together, donned in exquisite masks, elegant gowns and fun costumes to experience a masquerade celebration which included: Bravo Reception (where attendees were treated to delicious hors d’oeuvres, a fun signature cocktail named Bearcat Orange Fizz & complimentary drinks all night, VIP bags & mellifluous performances by the talented SMHS String Orchestra, Bella Sinfonia); Rare & Exotic Silent Auction items that ranged from exquisite handmade jewelry to a cocktail cruise; a Selfie station complete with fun props; A gourmet dinner buffet; An exciting Live Auction led by Bearcat parent & auctioneer Kerim Otus featuring both popular favorites like the Science Department Surf & Turf Dinner & new items such as a backstage tour of ABC7 News Studios with News Anchor Kristen Sze; Outstanding Performances by the cast of SMHS Musical Evita, and SMHS Advanced Dance students; and finally, dancing with fellow Bearcat friends!

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Thanks to the RECORD-BREAKING success of this year's Benefit, which raised more than $225,000 through individual & business sponsorships as well as ticket sales, silent and live auction proceeds, MORE THAN ANY OTHER YEAR IN FOUNDATION HISTORY, the Foundation can continue to support important programs that directly benefit SMHS students and staff, from essential classroom supplies and critical technology improvements to professional development opportunities for teachers. More than $24,000 was collected for this year's Fund-A-Need, a second set of Chromebooks for checkout to those SMHS students who lack the technology resources at home to succeed academically. First and foremost, the Foundation is deeply indebted to this year's Benefit chair JENNIFER LOW for her tireless and meticulous efforts to make Bearcat Masquerade such a success! She led an outstanding team of volunteers with dedication and an inclusive, collaborative spirit and for that, we are so grateful!

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It takes a village to raise funds for the GREATEST HIGH SCHOOL ON EARTH and the following individuals were critical to the success of this year's benefit:

PIERRO MARGALLO for all his continued help in designing the logo for the benefit year after year; VICKY WONG for once again heading the corporate sponsorship team, bringing in 17 corporate sponsors, 3 of them at the platinum level this year; AMY MCHUGH for heading an outstanding family & individual sponsorship team, who collectively secured more than 52 family and alumni sponsors this year; VICKY WONG, MARK & CAROLYN CHANDLER, DIANE HONG, JUNKO TANAKA, JENNIFER LOW, CAROL HEE, SASWATI PAUL, SANDRA SUN & YVONNE SHIU, who, along with other members of the auction solicitation team brought in amazing items that ranged from a tour of ABC7 News Studios, a dinner with Celebrity Chef Martin Yan to Exquisite Jewelry from Veronica Rose; NEW PARENT JILL GOLDRING for jumping into volunteering for SMHS by heading silent auction basket assembly and graciously allowing her home to be transformed into auction central for the past month, and her amazing team of parents who are too many to list!

JUNKO TANAKA for the hours and hours she spent inputting all the auction items and their descriptions into auction software, ensuring that the whole auction process was truly seamless! BOB KAYNE, ANN RHEE, ISABELLE BUSHMAN, CHRISTINE SEMENZA & YVONNE SHIU, for all their help with publicity for the event; ILING TANG & CHRISTINE ANDRIOLA & their wonderful team for transforming the Bayview Dining Room into a scene from a Masquerade Ball in New Orleans!; MOMOE SASAKI & LISA BABA for organizing a breathtaking Bravo reception complete with a delicious signature cocktail and amazing VIP bags; LENNY LOW, VICKY WONG, LISA BABA & GILBERT WAI for procuring all the drinks and beverages for the benefit; JIM WUNDERLICH & VIKAS JHA for setting up our computers & printers and all their help with auction software; THE ALWAYS AWESOME CHARLIE ROYCE for all his help with AV and sound for the presentations and performances;

DIANE HONG, JOSEPHINE JORGE & SO MANY MORE for capturing the beautiful moments of the benefit with their amazing photography; SARA COWEY for all her help in finding a Bearcat mascot, STUDENT JONATHAN LI, for the evening; DIANE & STANLEY HONG for all their help in getting programs and nametags ready for checkin; JENNY LIN & EUNICE RIM for heading a stellar checkin team including JENNIFER HAYS, LISA BABA, MOMOE SASAKI, JIM WUNDERLICH, SASWATI PAUL, EUDORA TING & MARYANNE RIBI; MARYANNE RIBI, for the hours she spent fine tuning the auction checkout process and for leading an amazing team which included Alumni parent JEAN TOM, Current Parents JIM WUNDERLICH, CATHERINE WRIGHT, CECILIA APOLINAR-HIRANO, JUNKO Dec 2016 9

TANAKA, EUDORA TING, SASWATI PAUL, CHEMI LO, DIANE HONG & LARRY BROOKS who made the complicated and chaotic process of auction checkout a breeze; Our dynamic auctioneers KERIM OTUS for making Live Auction exciting & successful, and MARK CHANDLER for heading the Fund a Need presentation; CHEMI LO for heading the Live Auction & Fund A Need Spotters Team; SMHS TEACHERS SHOSHANA KALINSKI & CASEY TEAGUE for coordinating a truly entertaining Costume & Mask Parade & Contest!; DARRYL CHAN for ensuring that the green room for the performers was properly stocked with snacks; MARIE DAMELO for supervising the performers; TIL TRIBUZI, for enabling the SMHS String Orchestra to perform at Bravo; BRAD FRIEDMAN, for enabling the cast of Evita to perform at the benefit, and DELIA REGADIO & RICK REYNOLDS for their support; ROBYN TRIBUZI for enabling Advanced Dance to perform at the benefit; STUDENT ABHAYA KRISHNAN-JHA for filming and producing both the Foundation as well as the SMHS Legacy Crew Tribute Videos shown at the benefit; STUDENT HELPERS ETHAN LOW, ALYSSA CHO, TIFFANY TANG, ELIZABETH TANG, DANICA RIBI, LIAN TING, ABHAYA KRISHNAN-JHA, LAUREN YOUNG, KIKI LO, PRESTON LO, WILLIAM LIN, ARIEL BLEMUR, SARINA DEB & OLIVIA BABA for giving up their Saturday to help with all aspects of the benefit; The Foundation extends a special thanks to PRINCIPAL YVONNE SHIU, ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS JESSE BOISE & ADAM GELB, DEAN PATTI GIAMONI, AND ALL TEACHERS AND STAFF, who not only attended the benefit in numbers, but also contributed generously to the silent and live auctions! We would also like to thank all the FOUNDATION BOARD members this year who have worked tirelessly for the success of this benefit: http://www.smhsf.org/board-of-directors.html On a final note, we are deeply grateful to our SPONSORS AND DONORS for their generous support! If you have not had a chance to send in your fair share donation and would like to do so, simply visit www.smhsf.org and send in your donation today! For those of you who were not able to join us at the benefit this year, please click on the link below to see the video that was shown at the benefit which describes the various programs & resources funded by the Foundation over the years in an entertaining manner! https://youtu.be/na9DFB3cqpw CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES FROM BEARCAT MASQUERADE https://www.facebook.com/media/set/… FINALLY, PLEASE SAVE THE DATE FOR THE 13TH ANNUAL BEARCAT BENEFIT, BEARCATS IN BOLLYWOOD, ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28TH 2017! WE WISH YOU A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON AND A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Art Department News-Jane McCabe, Julie Stock and Elizabeth Yapp

The "Circle Show" at the M building Art Gallery opened on Wednesday, October 12th. Most of our art students participated.

Art Gallery

Congratulations to Amanda Evans for her acceptance into the Idyllwild Summer Art Program this past summer.

Congratulations to Lily Sai for her selection to the Hall of Fame for the Landscape Competition this past May. Her work will be part of the California Landscape exhibit at SMCOE.

Congratulations to Sarah Winkel and Thomas Lee on their success in the Donor Network West Competition. Sarah placed 2nd and Thomas was the Facebook Fave.

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2nd Place - Sarah Winkel Facebook Fave - Thomas Lee

Art Certificate Program! The art certificate program offers a more enriched art experience in the visual arts and career pathway explorations opportunities, along with portfolio development. If you have a student interested in the Art Certificate program, please contact Ms. Stock at [email protected] or Ms. Yapp at [email protected]

Please check out our art certificate video and other course videos at http://smhs.schoolloop.com/ElizabethYapp

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Upcoming 2017

January 17- February 17, All District Art Show! Come see this show at SMHS Art Gallery

March 16, Look for the SMHS Annual Spring Art Show! Do not miss this opportunity to see some terrific student art.

Art Contests coming up: see our schoolloop websites for more info. California Coastal Art and Poetry contest: deadline Jan 31, 2017 City Arts of San Mateo: deadline March 2017 See Ms. Stock or Ms. Yapp

Art Careers: If you know of a professional working in a visual art-related career who may be interested in sharing his or her experience, please connect us. We are always looking for guest speakers and connecting to the current art world.

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