Principal’s Message

Changing Tides Newsletter

developed communi-cation skills, collabo-ration, critical think-ing, innovation, adaptability, and self-directed learning in technology rich class-rooms. Please see the C & I Corner for more specifics and resources pertaining to CCSS. We are looking forward to this shift in instruction and assessment. Wishing all of you another great year at Half Moon Bay High School!

Cheers, Ms. Silvestri, Principal

Dear Cougar Students and Parents: Our Homecoming edition of Changing Tides is here once again. The theme, “Everyday Heroes” was announced and students are beginning to prepare for all of the Homecoming activi-ties with some new events to enhance our school spirit and student connectedness. This year’s theme epitomizes the shift in our school climate and culture. I have witnessed a renaissance on campus over the past four years. Our focus on academic excel-lence and preparing students for post secondary opportunities resonates most as students chose to focus on career and heroes in our community who we hope to honor during the Homecoming week. The final Changing Tides 2013 edition did not include an impor-tant school and community noti-fication. Not until late May did the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) notify us of our 6-year term ac-creditation. This was no easy feat and a recognition not often given to similar college preparatory, comprehensive high schools. Now we have until 2019, to work on an action plan that will ad-dress our critical areas of need while continuing all that we do well in terms of teaching and learning and school climate and culture. Check out the full Self-study and visitation committee report on our website at http://hmbhs.schoolloop.com/wasc-self-study and be sure to stop by the main office where our certificate is displayed in our newly redes-igned recognition hallway.

In addition to all that is taking place on the high school campus, many district-wide initiatives are underway which guide our fac-ulty professional development design. Conversations involving our immersion program and se-quence and building a strong music education pathway so that every child has the opportunity to play an instrument enhance our dedication to raising up young men and women to be well-rounded citizens. As we transi-tion to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), a shift to col-laborative and project-based, authentic learning experiences, we will be publishing and educat-ing our students and families. The district’s vision statement for the CCSS is as follows: Cabrillo Unified School District be-lieves in ensuring equitable access to rigorous educational opportunities for all students to prepare them to thrive in a dynamic and diverse global community as socially responsible citizens. We will ac-complish this through strategic allocation of resources to support best teaching prac-tices, research-based professional develop-ment, and transpar-ent communication with stakeholders. We are dedicated to im-plementing the Com-mon Core Standards with fidelity to sup-port College and Ca-reer Readiness where student learning ex-hibits highly-

Curriculum & Instruction News By Jarrett Dooley

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Strong’s Section By Albert Strong

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Cougar Counseling Corner - Important Fall Program Dates

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Meet Our New Staff By Janet Vrba

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Homecoming Events, Football and Cheerleading

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Art News & Show Opening By Larkin Evans

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Bonjour from French Class By Patty Clavijo

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A Publication for our Cougar Community Fall 2013

Half Moon Bay High School Changing Tides Newsletter

Inside this issue:

Changing Tides Newsletter is a publication of Half Moon Bay High School. EDITOR & PHOTOGRAPHER Janet Vrba e: vrbaj@cabrillo.k12.ca.us p: 650.712.7205 w. https://hmbhs.schoolloop.com/ Half Moon Bay High School does not discriminate based on ethnicity, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, race, physical or mental disability, actual or perceived.

Save the Date! The Black and Orange Ball is November 2nd. See page 10 for more details.

C & I News by Jarrett Dooley, Assistant Principal, Curriculum & Instruction

Page 2 Changing Tides Newsletter

Testing News STAR Results: Congratulations to students and faculty for an extremely successful 2013-14 year. Our Academic Performance Index (API) has held steady right at the state target of 800, landing at 795 for 2012-13. Last year our similar school and state ranks, which colleges and universi-ties highly regard for student admission, rose yet again! HMBHS is now ranked 7 in the state and 7 in comparison to schools of similar demographics. All of our significant subgroups also rose. The gains are as follows: Hispanic up 5 points, Socioeconomically Disadvan-taged (SED) up 8 points, and English Language Learners and Redesig-nated Fully English Proficient (ELL and RFEP) with a total jump of 5 points. California High School Exit Exam November 5th and 6th will be CAHSEE testing for all 11th and 12th graders who have not yet passed the English and/or math portion(s) of the California High School Exit Exam. Students will be informed in advance of testing dates/locations. Cougar STARS! Congratulations to the following students who earned 4’s (Proficient) and 5’s (Advanced) on the spring 2013 STAR tests, and subsequent grade bumps in the following subjects: English, Math, Science, and Social Studies. The names of the students who are eligible for grade bumps are listed below, as well as posted to the windows of the C&I Office. All students who earned grade bumps for the spring semester will see those reflected on transcripts that will be run again at the be-ginning of October, just in time for students who are applying for early action/decision to college. Proficient & Advanced Students: Elyse Abramson, Angelica Acosta, Chelsea Acosta, Diego Acosta, Eduardo Acosta, Jose Reyes Acosta, Mayra Acosta, Odalys Acosta, Yessica Acosta, Shane Acton, Damien Adams, Gabriel Aguilar, Nicholas Aguilar, Emma Alaimo, Angelica Alcantar, Kelly Allen, Victor Altamirano, Ethan Amour, Aiko Anderson, Haley Anderson, Phillip Anderson, Sabina Andreini, Sarah Applegate, Madison Ard, Kristina Arella , Edwin Arellano, Ana Cristal Ar-reola, Magdalena Arreola, Juana Arriaga-Perez, Jackelyn Arroyo, Jose Arroyo, Guadalupe Avila-Suarez, Jose Ayon, Yuri Ayon, Christiana Bachicha, Nina Bachicha, Johnathan Bali, Nicholas Bannick, Ezequiel Barajas, Natalie Barger, Madison Barmore, Yarelly Barriga, Daniel Barros , Ian Barton, Gabriel Bauer, Emilio Baustita, Jenna Baxter, Edgar Becerra, Thomas Beebe, Julia Bellamy, Andrew Benson, John Blick, Adam Bloomer, Joshua Boggs, Spencer Boling, Alexandra Boville, Elizabeth Boville, Kailani Bowers, Sheridan Bowman, Haley Boyajian, Jake Boyajian, Angela Brazil, Cassidy Brazil, Danielle Brazil, Isaiah Briscoe, Danielle Burnside-Von Hooten, Maia Buzbee, Michael Cabal-lero, Jason Cagle, Avery Calhoun, Noe Calixto-Cocoletzi, Gabriela Camarena, Brandon Capers, Maria Capristo, Brenna Carroll, James Cartwright, EdRey Casamina, Christian Castaneda, Miro Cavanagh, Alexander Chee, Christiana Childers, Corey Cilia, Heather Claitor, James Clark, Mia Cline, Goretti Co-coletzi, Nicole Collins, Laura Combs, Anzony Contreras, Carmen Contreras, Kristopher Cook, Mia Cordes, David Corona, Dulce Anai Cortes-Brena, Jenni-fer Costa, Gabriela Covarrubias, Karina Covarrubias-Ortiz, Clancey Craig, Madeleine Croke, Sarah Crosland, Dylan Cummings, Gillian Davis, Joshua Davis, Drake Day, Branda De Jesus Acosta, Ivan De Leon, Gelareh Dehnad, Anthony DeMartini, Haley DeMay , Alessandra Devitt, Dante Di Napoli, Alexei Doncov, Cameron Draffan, Abigail Drobnick, Omar Droubi, Nina DuBose, Case DuFrane, Virginia Dussell, Ryan East, Jason Economopoulos, Katia Elias, Zoe Elias, Pace Farbstein, Graham Faust, Malcolm Feix, Farra Mae Fernandez, Noah Ferriera, Helen Fisher, Julia Floyd, Amanda Foley, Amy Francis, Kyleen Freeburg, Jack Fritz, William Fullerton, Francis Dylan Gabriel, Crystalyn Gallegos, Veronica Gallegos, Jaspar Gananian, David Gan-

ster, Angelo Garcia, Erik Garcia, Isabella Garcia , Tania Garcia-Coy, Jazmin Garduno, Brendan Garrison, Jacob Gehret, Madeline Gembalczyk, Marco George, Hannah Giles, Jacob Giusti, Jacob Giusti, Hugo Godinez, Andrew Goldbach, Emily Gomez-Aguila, Johana Graham, Catherine Gray, Kelly Griffin, Edgar Guevara, Andrea Guevara-Castro , Miguel Guevara-Ramirez, Brandon Guio, Jacob Guisti, Brandon Gutierrez, Sayra Gutierrez, Erika Haack, Summer Haataja, Alexander Hacker, Madeline Hagarty, Nathan Hagarty, Marcela Hagen-Aguirre, Cian Haley, Lily Hall, Beau Hamada, Stephanie Hamilton, Fiona Handler, Matthew Hann, Lucas Hannon, Matthew Hannon, Nolan Hardin, Grant Harman , Trevor Harman , Angelica Haro, Kyle Harwood, Vanessa Haupert, John Hebb, Matthew Hedding, Olivia Hedding, Andrew Heinzman, Joshua Heinzman, John Heirich, Ellie Henretty, Carlos Hernandez, Raul Hernandez, Vanessa Hernandez, Austin Hilton, Caroline Hines, Mary Hood, Riley Houston, Cesar Huerta, Gabriela Huerta, Riley Hummel, Adam Humphrey, Mary Hum-phrey, Robert Humphrey, Emily Iacopi, Evan Impink, Brandon Inglis, Carina Isidro, Stephen Islander, Christopher Jacobson, Haley James , Elle Janoe, Angel-ica Jaramillo, Leticia Jarquin, Max Jenkins, Maxwell Jenkins, Alexander Jeronimo, Patrick Jones, Alondra Juarez-Orozco, Ian Kairos, Kurt Katzenberger, Miles Keeton, Tristan Keller, Tessa Kelly, Kian Kemp, Kyla Kemp, Cleome Kerseg, Garrett Kerska, Robert Ketchum, Taylor King, Benjamin Klee, Anthony Klingele, Fiona Kohlman, Morgan Krieger, Joseph Kulda , Davis Ladd, Melanie Lanier, Nicholas Lasher, Christopher Latter, Nicole Laughlin, Chase Lawson, Chase Lawson, Marilisa Lehmer, Alix Lemke, Kallista Leonardos, Tobias Leo-nardos, Sarah LoCoco, Julia Loegering, Casandra Lopez, Jacqueline Lopez, Julio Lopez, Harvey Lopez-Navarrete, Kayla Lourenco, Justin Lovette, Katriel Lovewell , Alexia Lugo-Cortes, Lizett Luna, Richard Lundberg, Thomas Lund-gard, Mayra Luquin, Miguel Luquin, Jason Machado, Jeremy Mackinnon, Serena Manfro, Terra Manfro, Erick Mariscal, Julian Marquez, Evan Marschall, Logan Marshall, Jessica Martinez, Eulalio Mata, Lorna Mata, Ryan Mattel, Sean McCarthy, Alec McGregor, Kevin McHale, Joshua McKnight, Ryan McLarty, Kaya McMullen, Remi McMullen, Joseph Mello, Paul-Jason Mello, David Mendez, Francisco Mendez, Broden Menzies, Annika Merrilees, Claire Messina, Jesse Midkiff, Ryder Midkiff, Brodie Miller, Jack Mindus, Luis- Octa-vio Miramontes, Noemi Miramontes, Rodolfo Miramontes, Samuel Mitchell, Joseph Modena, Maya Montalvo, Emilee Moore, Giovanni Morales, Javier Morales, Ines Morales , Ana Morales-Galvan, Austin Morris, Carson Murison, Mark Myren, Andrew Naing, Sabrina Nava-Catalan, Silvia Navarrete-Chan, Derek Nazar, Amanda Nelson , Martine Nelson , Lena Nguyen, Shea Nolan, Heidi Noriega, Omid Nouripour, Michelle Novelo, Enrico Nuno, Thomas Nuno, Anthony Obester, Kiyomi O'Connell, Shelby Olson, Kathleen O'Malley, Yuliza Orozco, Alyson Osgood, Geoffrey Osgood, Celina Oswald, Stacy Ourique, Katelyn Overcashier, Megan Owens, Sophia Padua, Max Paladino, Gabrielle Pariseau, Marina Parks, Kenny Pelikan, Cecilia Penaloza, Juan Penaloza, Jacob Penner, Shane Penner, Eduardo Perez, Erick Perez, Kevin Perez, Erick Perez-Guevara, John Perkins, Danielle Peterson, Christopher Pintarelli, Dominic Pin-tarelli, Gabriel Pizzolato, Hugo Daniel Plancarte-Grajeda, Kevin Pomeroy, Molly Pomeroy, Connor Pope, Joaquin Preciado, Michael Provencio, Nicholas Pyle, Israel Ramirez, Alma Ramos, Irma Ramos, Ariel Rangel-Castro, Jordan Regan, Eli Reyes, Ashley Reynolds, Emma Reynolds, Tanner Rhodes, Johnatan Rico-Contreras, Yordiana Rico-Contreras, Julissa Rico-Ruiz, Serena Rios, Marco Rivera, Megan Rodrigues, Stephanie Rodrigues, Natalia Rodriguez- Zavala, Christopher Rodriguez-Villalobos, Marianne Rogers, Rachel Rogers, Danielle Rojo, Zachary Romsdahl, Sydney Royce, Celina Rudorfer, Gerardo Ruiz, Melissa Ruiz-Jimenez, Estefhany Ruiz-Ortiz, Katherine Rupert, Michael Rupert, Rebecca Rupert, Alondra Sahagun, Luz Salazar-Colorado, Jacob Salin-ero, Julian Salkin, Gabriela Sanchez, Janel Sanchez, Leticia Sarabia, Nancy Sarabia, Kaelyn Sattie, Michelle Schabinger, Claire Schuster, Victoria Sciaroni , Hector Segura, Sebastian Segura, Sandra Sencion, Dayna Serxner, Piet Shafer, Jasmine Shaff, Juliet Shelton, Aidan Shimeld , Fiona Shimeld , Chet Silveira, Gabriel Silveira, Thomas Simons, Darren Simser, Noah Skinner, Holly Smith, Olivia Smith, Tanner Smith, Harkanwalpreet Sodhi, John Sorfleet, Julie Sorfleet, David Souza, Emma Spaeth, Allegra Spano, Tiana Spano, Matthew Spigelman, Soleil Spigelman, Marcelline Springer, Sarah Stanton, Katarina Stein, Britta Stretch, Natalie Strohm, Kathryn Sullivan, Julia Sulzinger, Justin Sutton, Adam Syme, Maria Florie Tabiendo, Sasha Takata, Emily Tan, Lydia Tell, Justin Terra , Samuel Terraszas, Heather Theroff, Grace Thompson, Hailey Thorne, Mackenzie Tjogas, Rebekah Tonnessen, Eliana - Lourdes Torres, Julian Torres, Jessica Torres-Guevara, Zachary Treanor, David Tuxworth-Grant, Michael

Page 3 Fall 2013

C & I con’t Tyler, Nathaniel Tyler, Eymi Ucan-Mul, Shea Ugalde, Ashley Utz, Isabella Valencia, Leslye Valencia, Luis Vasquez-Morales, Samuel Vaughn, Miguel Vazquez, Bryan Vega-Marcelo, Jairo Velasco, Esmeralda Velasquez , Omar Velasquez-Romero, Angeliza Velazquez, Paola Venegas , Jose Villalobos, Jesus Villasenor-Anguiano, Beatriz Villegas, Fabiola Villegas, Ricardo Virgen, Melanie Waechtler, Daniel Wallace, Kaira Wallace, Porter Warrick Hess, Thatcher Warrick Hess, Hunter Washington, Chase Waterman, Eleanor Weiss, Alexander White , Darragh White , Micaela White , Connor Whitt, Federico Wiegold, Brooke Williams, Justin Winslow, Jacob Winstead, Aidan Wolk, Jackson Wooliever, Elaine Yang, Anjyu Yee, Calvin Yeh-Tinetti, Colby Yeh-Tinetti, Ryan Yerby, Carmen Zafra, Dante Zafra, and Harold Zaidan. Reclassification of Students: I would like to recognize the following 6 students who were reclassified as Fully English Proficient based on their CELDT and STAR scores and who were honored at the September 10th ELAC dinner: Ariel Castro- Rangel, Francisco Valencia, Miguel Peñaloza, Alexia Lugo-Cortes, Raúl Hernández, and Goretti Cocoletzi. First Quarter Grades The first quarter ends on October 18th. Please check School Loop for the most up-to-date grade reports for your students. First Quarter Grades will be finalized the last week in October. Outstanding Cougar Award Luncheon Continues: Thanks to The Foundation, HMBHS is lucky enough to continue the quarterly Out-standing Cougar Award Luncheons. The intention of the luncheon is to bring staff and students together to acknowledge the amazing gifts, character traits, and talents of the young men and women on our campus. The first student recognition celebra-tion will be held Friday, October 18th. Check School Loop for a list of all of the winners.

ASB & Activities The Leadership class is working hard to make this year's Homecoming Week extra special. Homecoming Week is October 15th - October 18th. The classes will compete to determine who has the most spirit in relays, dances, games, and more. The Homecoming Game pits the home-town Cougars against the San Mateo Bearcats on Friday, October 18th. Home-coming Week will be capped off by the Homecoming Dance, where the King and Queen will be announced. Leadership will also be hosting a car wash at the High School on Saturday, October 5th to raise funds for the upcoming events. Athletics The fall sports teams are off and running. The High School is busy every afternoon practicing, preparing, and participating in athletic contests. Please support your fa-vorite teams and athletes on campus by attending HMBHS home and away games. If you would like to further sup-port our athletes and teams, please contact the Athletics Boosters for more ways you can contribute to the cause.

Facilities Recently, HeartSine donated a brand new AED to replace the missing unit at the Football Field. We wanted to recognize HeartSine for their generous donation and the Via Foundation for their help in mak-ing our campus safer. Currently we have AEDs located in the Main Office, at the Football Field, at the Pool, and at the Softball Field. In addition we would like recognize the Athletics Boosters and es-pecially Pauline Burke for bringing AEDs to our campus. Campus Beautification is under way once again thanks to the efforts of Janine Rob-inson and Joel White who are heading up our Campus Beautification Committee for the Fourth straight year. After a success-ful effort in August to start off the new school year the campus looks better than it ever has. Please be on lookout for op-portunities to serve during additional Campus Beautification Days this Spring as the Committee looks to continue its excellent work.

Our meetings are held in the MU at 6 p.m. at Half Moon Bay High School. All Spanish-speaking parents are invited to participate and attend. The following are our upcoming scheduled meetings: November 19: 2nd Annual meeting January 14, 2014: 3rd Annual Meeting April 1, 2014: 4th Annual Meeting All are welcome. Bring food to share! The Milagros Scholarship - We are seeking community support to raise funds for The Milagros Scholarship. You can volunteer at our upcoming fundraiser events. Also, if you or your business would like to make a financial contribution please contact us. Veronica Torres, ELAC President email: verocarmel1970@gmail.com Vicky George- ELAC Vice-president email: vickygeorge@marykay.com

Strong’s Section by Albert Strong, Asst. Principal

HMBHS Yearbook LAS OLAS

Las Olas, the Half Moon Bay High School yearbook for over 100 years, is now on sale for a new low price of $60. You can order your copy at school or online at yearbookorder-center.com#16344. Order forms can be found in the front office or on SchoolLoop.

Memories are forever, but sometimes we need pictures to help us remember!

ELAC Parent Group

Cougar Counseling Corner by Kira Gangsei, Department Chair

Page 4 Changing Tides Newsletter

Spotlight: Naviance & the Personal Learning Plan (PLP) Program Our counseling team has developed and continues to improve the Kent award winning PLP Program to ensure that all students re-ceive academically focused counseling services specific to their needs at each grade level. With the help of Naviance, this program is better than ever. Naviance helps students plan for college and make informed decisions about their futures. All students at the high school have an account with Naviance and are encouraged to use it at home and during PLPs. http://connection.naviance.com/halfmoon Counseling Department Fall Programming:

October 9th: PLPs- Seniors will attend our annual PLP Post-Grad Options Workshops. We will hold workshops on Community College/Alternatives to College, California State Universities (CSU), and University of California (UC) & Private Schools.

October 15th-November 26th: College Application Workshops- Thanks to the ongoing support provided by the Founda-tion, counselors are again hosting drop in College Application Workshops in the HMBHS library from. Every T/W/Th, from 3:15-4:15 counselors will be available to help students with anything related to college applications (filling out applications,

writing college essays, selecting schools to apply to, etc.) October 16th: PSAT –Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test- The PSAT will take place @ HMBHS for Sophomores and Juniors. Sign up with Ms. Robert-son from 10/3-10/11 (before school, brunch, & lunch). The cost is $20 and fee waivers are available. October 17th: College Information Night for parents @ 6pm in the HMBHS Library. Parents of all grade levels are encouraged to attend. November 6th: Freshman Career Interest PLP- Freshmen meet in groups with counselors to begin career and college exploration and planning. November 13th: Sophomore Career Interest PLP- Sophomores meet in groups with counselors to review 4 year plans and evaluate high school progress. December 6th: Local Scholarship Program Application- due from sen-iors. With 1 application seniors can apply for 100+ scholarships. Application is available on Naviance. December 11th: “PSAT Now What?” workshop begins at 6pm in HMBHS Library to go over PSAT results and the next steps in preparing for college. Letters of Recommendation: Students needing letters of recommendation (most private colleges & some scholarship programs) must complete the Re-quest for Letters of Recommendation in Naviance. Requests must be submitted 3 weeks prior to deadline OR but no later than Oct 31st. http://connection.naviance.com/halfmoon

Our HMBHS counseling team is dynamic and experienced!

Meet our counselors (right to left): Ms. Gangsei (students A-G) - 6th year as a counselor @ HMBHS. Ms. Robertson (students H-O) - 5th year @ HMBHS (back from 2-year maternity leave). Ms. Buritica (students P-Z) – 2nd year @ HMBHS.

With your help, we have allocated $250,000 this school year to make specific improve-ments to science, literacy, music, and teacher development across the district. At the HMBHS, we are funding the Animation Class; providing materials for a new state of the art science lab; and, buying new books and a media curriculum. CEF is also sponsoring four post-secondary field trips to introduce students to more op-tions after high school. We are pleased to be supporting teacher collaboration and providing professional development and collaboration between the high school and Cunha faculty to assist them in becoming models and experts in the Next Generation Science Standards. For more information about how CEF’s allocations touch all CUSD schools, go to: www.ceffund.org

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE: In 2014-2015, based on endowment re-turns, CEF expects to allocate a total of $145,000 to our local schools! We have earmarked approximately $94,000 of this to SUSTAIN successful programs from prior CEF allocations – including the ani-mation class and teacher collaboration at the high school. The remaining $51k will be allocated to NEW (or renewed) pro-jects and programs in the areas of science, literacy and music. We invite you to generate ideas and participate in the application process. The deadline for requests is October 31, 2013. To find out how to request funds, go CEF Requests for Allocations 2014-2015.

For additional questions, please contact Valerie Dubois, CEF Allocations Chair, at 650-868-9436 or vjdubois@yahoo.com If you are interested in joining one of the Allocation Sub Committees, as a non-board member, please get in touch with Valerie Dubois as soon as possible. LEND A HAND: Volunteer and have some fun at CEF’s HUGELY successful Giant Pumpkin Photo Booth (yes, pun intended :-). If you can donate 2-3 hours on October 19 or 20th, please contact Mary Vradelis at info@ceffund.org

CEF SUPPORTS STUDENTS IN A BIG WAY

As Seasons Change - Meet Our New Staff by Janet Vrba

Page 5 Fall 2013

Teachers come and teachers go. Some retire and some begin their new careers as the sea-sons of life change. This year we have eight new staff members as well as a returning counselor. Mandi Robertson took a two-year leave of absence from our counseling department to become a mother. Her daughter, Savannah (Savi), is now two years old. Robertson and family have re-located back to the Bay Area from Para-dise. Robertson has missed the students and community and is looking forward to a great year. Robertson re-turns to counsel students with last names beginning with H - O. Kyle Koehler joins our English department after traveling abroad and living one year in Istanbul. Upon returning to America, he promised himself that when he found a teaching job he’d reward himself with a dog. His three-month old Golden Retriever is named Porter. Koehler was born and raised in Los Angeles and received his BA in English Literature at Cal State Fullerton. David Rathbun filled a position in our social studies department after Don Prestosz retired last year. Rathbun made a career change from corporate sales into teaching. He is teaching World History and is the Slots Coach for our Varsity Football team under Head Coach Keith Holden. “The kids are great,” Rathbun said in sharing how good it feels to be coach-ing and accepted into our coastside commu-nity. Rathbun and his wife, Katie, were en-gaged in Paris, France, and have been married for five years. Their daughter, Gigi, is 16 months old and they reside in San Carlos. Carlos Poma joins our World Language de-partment as well as teaches a course at Cunha Intermediate School. Poma grew up in Xela, the second largest city in Guatemala. Poma shared that Xela is a truly beautiful city full of architectural classical buildings and Mayan culture surrounded by nature and volcanoes which begs the question of why he came to America. He had taught for a few years in his native country but when the opportunity to become a principal arose, one of the

necessary requirements was to be able to speak English which he could not. This motivated him to move to San Francisco where he spent two years in a language program learning English as he worked. He met his wife Suzanne, a native of San Mateo, during this time. They have an 11-month old daughter, Iris. Poma completed his teacher certifi-cation at San Francisco State University and his wife works as a college counselor at Skyline Col-lege.

Joel Kirk’s interest to pursue a graduate degree in Library Science led him to accept our position to manage our library. Kirk has a BA in American Studies with a focus in Asian American Studies from UC - Santa Cruz. His hobbies include writing, reading, playing video games, and jogging. He has great interest in Singaporean cinema and he said he’d like to improve his language skills in Manda-rin Chinese and Japanese. Jaime Beaver earned her BA in International Rela-tions at UC - Davis. While on her summer intern-ship in international business in Geneva, Switzer-land, Beaver realized that if she really wanted to affect change in the world, she needed to start from the ground up. “Educating the masses is how you affect change in a nation,” Beaver said. She chose teaching as she also wanted her work to be mean-ingful. Beaver received her credential in Special Education (moderate to severe) at Sonoma State. She joined our Special Education department this year. Beaver is an outdoor enthusiast and enjoys her scenic commute down Highway 1 from her Nob Hill neighborhood in San Francisco. She dreams to one day teach abroad.

Our new Assistant Principal of Pupil Services transferred here from Arizona where he taught World History, Economics and Gov-ernment. He received his BA from Brigham Young University and his Master’s from Northern Arizona University. He’s been mar-ried to Amy for eleven years and they have four children (ages 9, 5, 4, and 1). Strong shared he came from a family of ten children. He’s an avid sports fan. As an athlete, he

played basketball, baseball, and foot-ball. He’s happy to return to his na-tive state and has family in Southern California. Barbara Hedrick retired last year opening the door for Michael Davis to join our science department led by Barbara Lohman. Davis grew up in Santa Cruz. He earned his BA in Earth and Planetary Science at UC - Santa Cruz and his Master’s in Edu-cation. Davis has a vibrant passion for science and spent much time in the past helping his friends and others to understand it. Often, his friends com-mented, “you should be a teacher.” While at HMBHS, Davis will help his students to succeed in Earth Science and Chemistry as well as start up a Frisbee Club for the students. Davis owns a three-year old German Shep-herd named Daisy and likes having

her pull him on his skateboard around Oak-land where he lives with his girlfriend, Kim. Harjit Punj received his degree in Electronics Engineering before coming to America and earned his Master’s in Electrical Engineering at the University of Nebraska. Punj enjoyed working in a variety of information technol-ogy management positions in Silicon Valley before taking early retirement in 2001. After eight years of retirement, his wife, a teacher at Mountain View Whisman School District insisted he find meaningful work. As a result, he obtained his teacher certification and has joined our Math Department and teaches Algebra 1. He still makes time to teach an Introduction to Engineering class to 8th grad-ers in C. T. English Middle School in Los Gatos where he resides with his wife. Punj is an avid golfer and has been a world traveler. He likes to listen to Indian classical music and he had a prior Half Moon Bay connec-tion when his son opened up Snap Fitness in 2009.

Front row (left to right): Kyle Koehler, David Rathbun, Carlos Poma. Second row (left to right): Joel Kirk, Jaime Beaver, Mandi Robertson, Albert Strong. Back row (left to right): Michael Davis and Harjit Punj.

Page 6 Changing Tides Newsletter

Friday, Oct. 11 Freshman Dress-up Day as Doctors

Saturday, Oct. 12 Class Project Day—Make sure to practice your Dances and Lip Syncs for the Homecoming Assembly on Friday, Oct. 18

Tuesday, Oct. 15 Sophomore Dress-up Day as Firemen

Wednesday, Oct. 16 Junior Dress-up Day as Police

Thursday, Oct. 17 Senior Dress-up Day as Military

Friday, Oct. 18 Cougar Spirit Day - Everyone Dress in Orange & Black to earn spirit points for your grade 11:28 a.m. - Homecoming Assembly in Gym 4 p.m. - Frosh/Soph Football Game 6:30 p.m. - Homecoming Pre-Game Show 7 p.m. - Homecoming Varsity Football Game against San Mateo 8:30 p.m. - Homecoming Dance in the Gym

2013 Homecoming Themes - Scheduled Events

The HMBHS Leadership class is pumped up for this year’s Homecoming! The Student Store will be open every Wednesday and Friday during lunch. Homecoming Week begins on Friday, Oct. 11 through Friday, Oct. 18.

The Half Moon Bay Cougars Varsity football team begins play this 2013 season looking to re-bound from a difficult and disappointing 2012. The Cougars, under second year head coach Keith Holden, will compete in the PAL Ocean division. The division is stacked with tough teams such as Burlingame, Aragon and Woodside, along with San Mateo and Capu-chino. The Cougars played a challenging pre season schedule with home games against Hillsdale and South San Francisco, as well as road games at Wilcox and Menlo School. The regu-lar season finishes with the traditional Skull Game against rival Terra Nova High School. This season's Varsity team is made up of 16 seniors, 16 juniors and 4 sophomores. The Cougars are fortunate to have a strong coach-ing staff; Coach Holden running the offense and Coach Willie Hillyard running the defense. They are supported by position coaches Don Dias, re-turning for his 37th season coaching the offensive

line, Steve Terraszas coaching wide receivers, Nick Colvin coaching quarterbacks, Dave Rathbun coach-ing slot backs, Rocky Perry coach-ing defensive linemen and Rob Mar-tin coaching the defensive secon-

dary. The Cougars begin the 2013 season in the second year of an evolving double wing offense that features a strong running game com-plemented by an efficient passing game. This season's team will be making a push toward win-ning the PAL Ocean

division and earning a CCS playoff spot. The Frosh/Soph football team is coached by Head Coach Ronnie Ekis and H.M.B. Cou-gar alumni Derek France, Brenden Roth, Nick Trautman, and Jason Miller as well as HMBHS's own Mr. Agundes. The team is young and made up of mostly freshmen and

first time football players who will gain much needed experience against quality competition

this season. The HMBHS football program will once again this season recognize

members of the commu-

nity, teachers and High School staff, who sup-port our football program and players through-out the season, with the weekly Community Cougar award. This honor is voted on by the players each week and allows the Community Cougar to get an up close look at what goes into a week of preparation through access to practice, film sessions, meetings, team dinner and a sideline pass to the Friday night game. The Cougars coaches and players wish to thank all volunteers and supporters for all they do to make our football program a success. We look forward to seeing you at John Francis Field on Friday nights this season to cheer the Cougars on to victory!

Cougars Look for Homecoming Victory

The Cougars in their win against SSF. Photos by Becky Ruppel.

The Cougars Against Menlo Park

Page 7 Fall 2013

Cougar Boosters Fall Update “Get Your Orange On” and help celebrate Homecoming on Friday, October 18th. Boosters will be assisting the Leadership Class with the 2013 Homecoming festivities with a pregame show between the Frosh-Soph and Varsity football games and at half time of the Varsity game. The celebrations will begin with the entrance of the Marching Band to introduce and honor our own “Local” Everyday Heroes, Alumni, Varsity Cheerleaders, and the Homecoming Court.

The fun of the Homecoming weekend con-tinues with the Pumpkin Festival. Start your morning off at the Boys Basketball Pancake Breakfast at Mac Dutra Park fol-lowed by the world famous “Pumpkin Smoothies” made by Boys & Girls Water Polo & Swim Teams. For lunch, plan on

getting your fill of delicious Tamales spon-sored by Girls Soccer & Volleyball. Last, wrap up your afternoon with a bag of Ket-tle Corn prepared by Girls Basketball and a Pumpkin Spice Churro from the Booster’s Churro Cart.

November starts with the social event of the season, the Black and Orange Ball. This annual event will be held on Satur-day, the second of November at Cetrella restaurant. Ticket sales are limited, so don’t wait to purchase your tickets to this fun event that supports BAC and each sport team at Half Moon Bay High School. Tickets are available for sale on line at hmbcougarboosters.org and most fall sport venues. Enjoy the company of the high school’s administration and coaching staff

and fellow parents. It is with your support of BAC and their sponsored events that our stu-dent athletes are able to make sports an integral part of their high school experience.

The Black & Orange theme wraps up the fall season with a raffle for a pair of Black and Or-ange Beach Cruisers, donated by the Bike Works located here in Half Moon Bay, to help fund the school’s athletic trainer. Tickets will be available for sale starting on October 18th at Homecoming. Tickets are $10.00 each or 3 for $20.00. So take a chance and imagine yourself enjoying a ride along the coastal trail on your new bikes with the gratifying feeling that you contributed to an important cause! The winner of the beach cruisers will be announced at the Black & Orange Ball.

Princeton Seafood Restaurant, Varsity Cheer Team: Front Row (L to R): Mary Botham (Owner Princeton Seafood), Gracie Thompson & Gabby Pariseau. Middle Row: Mari Lehmer, Darragh White, Bella Valencia, Mia Cline, Jessica Martinez, Lydia Tell, Dominique Peranich & Abbie Drobnick. Back Row: Soleil Spigelman & Sydney Royce.

Homecoming is just around the corner and the cheerleading teams are getting ready for their big rally performance at the assembly. Both teams will be performing a stunt routine together.

Thank you to John Evans and the Marching Band for work-ing with the Varsity Cheer Team to perform music that the cheer team can perform to.

Cheerleading Teams raised $2300 at their Tip-A-Cheer fundraiser on September 9th at Prince-ton Seafood Restaurant. A HUGE thanks to Mary Botham and her staff.

GG OO CC OO UU GG AA RR SS !!

Princeton Seafood Restaurant, F/S Cheer Team: Front Row: Mary Botham (Owner Princeton Sea-food). Second Row: Val Miramontes, Eliza Scheley, Natalie Simrock & Aubrey Rios. Third Row: Christy Chew, Ginny Dussell, Christy Childers, Ellia Simmons, Amanda Nelson & Remi McMullen. Forth row: Martine Nelson & Sasha Takata.

The Football and Cheer-leading Teams raised $11,000 at their carwash fundraiser on August 17th& 18th. Pictured are Sydney Royce and Soleil Spigel-man adding fun to the day of carwashing.

Page 8 Changing Tides Newsletter

Visual and Performing Arts Department Art Spectrum Spirit Animals Are Being Created NOW! What animal form would you select to represent your personality and your unique traits? Art Spectrum students are designing a ceramic form to represent who they are or who they would like to be seen as by others. Art Spectrum is a new beginning art class this year. It’s content is a merging of curriculum from Art I, Sculpture I and Animation I. Watch for our emerging artists works of art! Art II Students Publish a NEW book: “Ten Little Pumpkins” ! The HMBHS art department has illustrated and published a chil-dren’s storybook ! Thanks to parent and author, Traci Martinez-Brown, who wrote “Ten Little Pumpkins,” our talented art students have now illus-trated this uniquely Half Moon Bay full color, counting, story book OR black line, coloring book. Coloring books will be available at our face painting booth at the Pumpkin Festival (Bank of America parking lot). The full color story will soon be available in stores and businesses. We think that the friendliness that the Coastside is known to share, will be felt as you flip through the pages of “Ten Little Pumpkins.” A portion of the proceeds from this purchase goes directly to the Half Moon Bay High School Art department for the purchase of art materials and new equipment.

Special thanks to the wonderful parents who have (so far) supported generously to the art department: We would not have the programs we have without your in-credible support: Nancy Midkiff Kate Livingston Kathleen Conroy Yvonne McClish Scott’s Valley Senior Center Ace Hardware John (Music) Evans John (Architect) Evans Bonnie McClung Dunham Lou Cohen Joni Mauer Deanna Bone-Rundel Anju Yee and Family Michael Mountain and Jane Mountain Sarah Ibarra Jeanne Olson Colleen Shimeld and Cottage Industries Michael Rigley (thanks to sister Crystal) Dave Bridges and Margot Childers Joan Fulp Allen Spring Mountain Gallery – Michael Wong Hallie Gardo John and Janine Miller Rebecca Ellis and the Overcashier Family Mina Pratt Traci Gonzales-Brown, Michael Brown and Family James and Lisa Kairos and Family Jose Vasquez and Family Luis Lara-Plancarte and Family “The Crow’s Nest” and owner Dena Denniston

PAC Becomes The Foundation The HMBHS Foundation is a parent group responsible for funding Schoolloop, Naviance, Field Trips, Class-room Supplies, Teacher Training, After School Tutoring, and many other things we all count on in the classroom. In addition to this, we also fund four class sections so that our students can have the class offerings we have all be-come accustomed to. The Foundation also provides hos-pitality at many events throughout the school year and leads the Campus Beautification efforts. Our fundraising goal for this school year is $150,000. If we reach this goal with our membership drive, we will not be asking for money again this year. Please join us! Go to our website and click on membership or pick up a member-ship form in the front office. If your donation is $250 or greater, you will be recognized on our Wall of Honor, outside in the quad under the Cougar. Please join us for our monthly meetings held on the first Monday of each month in the Teachers’ lounge. Our next meeting will be on Monday, October 7th at 6pm.

Page 9 Fall 2013

Bonjour from Madame Clavijo by Patty Clavijo Why learn French? The top 6 reasons

1. A world language

2. A language for the job market 3. The language of culture 4. A language for travel 5. A language for higher education 6. A language that will help your student

earn the California Seal of Bi-literacy! The Seal of Bi-literacy is an award given by a school, school district, or county office of education in recognition of students who have studied and attained proficiency in two or more languages by high school graduation. The Seal of Bi-literacy appears on the transcript or di-ploma of the graduating senior. The SEAL has been adopted and implemented in dozens of school districts including Cabrillo Unified School District; thousands of students have received the award. An increasing number of professional organizations and other entities have endorsed the SEAL. A Seal of Biliteracy is a statement by the school system that mastery of two or more languages is important. It encourages students to pursue biliteracy, honors the skills our students attain, and can be evidence of skills that are attractive to future employers and college admissions offices. A Seal of Biliteracy is granted to all students who meet the criteria for the award. For each level, criteria are set for students whose first language is English who are learn-ing a second language and for English Learners who are developing academic proficiency in their home language while mastering English. High School Criteria for the "Seal of Biliter-acy" English Component • Proficient or Advanced score on ELA CST OR • Proficient on ELA CAHSEE AND • 2.0 Grade Point Average in all ELD and/or ELA courses toward graduation World Language Component • Score of 3 or higher on World Language AP Exam OR • Score of 4 or higher on IB Exam OR • Equivalent Government Test (score to be de-termined) OR • 4 years of the same language or equivalent with a 3.0 GPA last two semesters

What are we learning? French classes are a buzz in excitement to speak French. We are infusing technology and AVID tools of student engagement to help students connect to what they are learn-ing in meaningful ways. So far this first quar-ter, French 1 students brought their learning outside of the classroom and taught parents siblings and friends the ABC's and introduc-tions using cell phones to record and video. They just completed their first dialogues, are learning how to tell time and look forward to learning about foods from the French speak-ing world.French 2 created wonderful presen-tations about themselves and important peo-ple in their lives using Animoto. They look forward to creating family crests and explor-ing the foods and customs of French regions this semester. French 3 and 4 students are getting in the swing of speaking in French every day, expressing their opinions about how to succeed in school and in life, the benefits of being a polyglot, our daily routine in America compared to others in the French Speaking world. We look forward to explor-ing French art music and poetry in the com-ing weeks. What's coming up

Snail Mail exchange with students from Tergnier, a small town in Northern France

National French Week November 5-9th Field Trip planned to the Cantor Mu-

seum at Stanford Museum Host School for French exchange stu-

dents in the Spring French Club is a new student club that invites anybody interested in French. Club

members are interested in Researching travel abroad/exchange opportunities, having a french pot lunch, French conversation, watching French films, planning field trips and celebrat-ing birthdays. Congratulations to the following students elected as French club board members: Madamoiselle le President MelanieWaechler Madamoiselle le Vice President Kitty Perlsweig Princesse Trésorier Nina Bachicha Super Sectretaire Cynthia Silva Trois Mousquetaires des Activites Emma Reynolds, Julia Bellamy, and Carmen Zafra

Above: Ms. Clavijo holds a new Samsung Galaxy tablet 3 pro-vided by the Meas-ure S Bond. To the left: French Club

Page 10 Changing Tides Newsletter