Friday Letter: June 12, 2020
Good evening Falcon Families!
This being our first week of the Summer Break, one would think that things would slow down, but on the contrary, throughout the week, some of the Saratoga High School staff continued to work, committing time to figure out how the new school year will begin and working together to discuss and develop plans to review our practices, policies, and curriculum regarding inclusion, diversity, and equality. Thursday afternoon, we celebrated the Redwood Middle School promoting 8th graders as they drove through our Herriman Ave. parking lot as a part of their 8th grade Car Parade route, marking the end of their middle school years and the start of their high school years. Thursday night, in conjunction with Los Gatos High School and the Los Gatos Saratoga Union High School District, staff, students, and parents participated in the “Empowering our Students to Recognize, Interrupt, and Repair Injustices,” webinar. Today, our students and their families should have received their report cards.
Over the summer, we will continue to work with District Leadership and Los Gatos High School to plan for school starting in August somehow. We will also continue to evaluate how to improve our campus culture to ensure our practices, policies, and curriculum are aligned to our values of inclusion, diversity, equality, and a growth mindset.
This is the last Friday Letter for Families for the 2019-20 school year and I hope these weekly newsletters highlighting our students, staff, and programs served as a reliable source of information and celebration. Next school year’s “Friday Letter for Families” will resume July 31. In the meantime, if there is pressing information, I will simply share via email messages and voice messages, as needed.
I hope you and your family enjoy a memorable summer break. May you finish a couple of books, learn something new, make time to play games with your family and friends, and take opportunities to find the beauty in our community and in each other.
Best wishes,
Greg Louie, Principal
Trivia Night is back: Thursday, June 18
Join us on the Saratoga High School 2019-2020 Facebook page. It is a private page so if students are not on the page, they need to make a request to join. Parents and family members are welcome to look over their shoulders.
World Languages Mural by Albert Xiao and Allen Chang
Thank you to Albert Xiao and Allen Chang who finished the World Languages mural this week. It is a beautiful tribute to the various languages we teach on the Saratoga High School campus.
Textbook Return and Fines
We will be collecting school materials through Thursday, June 18th on a book cart outside the Main Office. On Tuesday, you can come into the Activities Office to pay any fines. Receipt of your schedule will be delayed, if you have overdue materials or fines.
SHS School Site Council Election Results
The SHS School Site Council just wrapped up the 2020-2021 election and we are happy to announce that Jessica Liu and James Oberhauser will be joining our team. Jessica is mom to two SHS students who are in the 12th and 11th grades. She has been actively involved in PTSO, Saratoga Music Boosters, and other fundraising events on campus. Jessica’s philosophy includes building students’ self-esteem, independence, responsibility, and mastering friendship. James is a lifelong Falcon. He graduated from SHS in 1987 and has had children in our school since 2013. He brings a wealth of knowledge as an Assistant Professor and former member of the University of Virginia Graduate Admissions Committee. He believes that self-discipline, passion, and intellectual curiosity are the foundation of academic success and lifelong learning.
Thank you to all who volunteered to run in this election. We cannot be an effective council without parent support. Also, a very special thank you to Sree Bade and Wenjing Chu, who served the last two years. Your participation and dedication are truly appreciated!
US Online Mathematical Olympiad Qualifiers
MAA released the names of approximately 400 students from the USA, its territories, and Canada who qualified for the US Online Mathematical Olympiad (USOMO) and US Online Junior Mathematical Olympiad (USOJMO). Four Saratoga HS students qualified for either USOMO or USOJMO: Preston Fun (10) & Joseph Zhang (10) qualified for USOJMO and Nilay Mishra (9) & Brandon Wang (12) qualified for USOMO. Click here for a full list of USOMO list of Qualifiers and USOJMO list of Qualifiers.
Depending on how our students perform, they may represent the US in international math competitions. Please offer your congratulations to Preston, Joseph, Nilay, and Brandon!!
GoFundMe account for Coach Kapanga Mchombo
As some in our soccer community may know, our Men’s F/S soccer coach Coach Kapanga Mchombo, also known to everyone as KP, was recently diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin's Lymphoma. KP is a vibrant young man and in great physical condition so the doctors say his chances of recovery are great. His friends and club soccer community started a Go Fund Me to help with expenses for Chemo treatments and living expenses as he recovers. If you could help our Coach KP, please click on this GoFundMe link for more information.
SHS Chess Tournament Fundraiser, June 14
The Saratoga Chess Club hosted a Chess Tournament Fundraiser on April 18 and had over 30 participants with two sections and raised $830 and delivered 100 shields for ICU and ER use to the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. Due to popular demand, the SHS Chess Club is going to host another online chess tournament (chess.com) on June 14 at 1pm to support local businesses during this pandemic. Come play chess online to compete for chess.com premium memberships. At the end, there will be a raffle for a free online group chess lesson with Candidate Master Colin Albert with up to 6 spots. To enter the raffle, you must send a receipt to the Saratoga High School Chess Club of your order. 1 receipt = 1 raffle ticket and players are welcome to submit more than 1 raffle ticket. Here is the link for the registration.
Tri-M Concert to Support Campaign Zero, June 20 via YouTube
Saratoga’s Tri-M is a music club that serves to unite students in their love of music, bring students’ musical talents to community centers, and partner with other Bay Area schools to raise money for causes. Last December, Tri-M partnered with Lynbrook High School and Pioneer High School for a beneficial concert that raised over $600 for FCSN(Friends of Children with Special Needs)
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In light of the Black Lives Matter Movement, Tri-M will be hosting an asynchronous benefit concert with all proceeds going to Campaign Zero, an organization that utilizes facts and data statistics to conclude policies on solutions for police brutality. With contributions from lead activists, protesters and researchers, they bring these solutions to lawmakers and take the steps in providing change we wish to see. The concert will take place on June 20th via YouTube. Performances feature the current orchestra and band students as well as Saratoga alumni and teachers. We hope that we can bring music’s healing and spiritual renewing affects to you and our community. Please join us in supporting the Black Lives Matter movement by listening to our concert or donating to our Go Fund Me..
Here are YouTube links to our promotion video and previous asynchronous gigs dedicated to the Sunnyview Retirement Center Residents that will be in similar format to our benefit concert on June 20th.
Are You Interested in Playing a FALL Sport?
Fall Sports INCLUDE: Cross Country, Field Hockey, Football, Women’s Golf, Women’s Tennis, Women’s Volleyball, and Water Polo. Registration for only Fall Sports will be open from June 15th to August 10th. Please visit our athletics website at saratogaathletics.org for updates and announcements including try-out dates for fall and information for summer workouts starting as early as June 22nd. Information will be posted on the website as it becomes available.
2020 Graduates: A Note About Final Transcripts
The guidance office will send a final transcript to the college that was listed on your senior survey. If you have an updated school (ie, you got off the waitlist of another college) that needs the transcript instead, email your request to shs-transcripts@lgsuhsd.org so the right school gets the transcript. Please also remember that you need to send official transcripts from any community colleges from which you have previously taken classes. It is not enough for it to be listed on your SHS transcript. Contact your counselor if you have questions.
School Closure Guidance Counselor FAQ
Guidance counselors regularly update an FAQ during this school closure period. Check it out!