Oct 2010 PTSA Pony Express Newsletter

8/4/2019 Oct 2010 PTSA Pony Express Newsletter

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I cant believe it is October. Schoolstarting so late this year has thrown mefor a loop, like a three day weekend

when you forget what day it isbut weve hit the groundrunning. Our first association meeting was great, as wasthe turnout. We discussed plans for the year and approvedour budget. It was nice to see old and new faces in thecrowd. At our October meeting, well discuss our typicalPTSA business, but well also have a guest speaker to edu-cate everyone about problems with prescription/over thecounter drug abuse among our student population. It will

be a meeting and presentation you wont want to miss;please join us.

Im also proud to say our first student/parent opportunityto learn more about selecting and funding college was asuccess. The PTSA invited Get College Funding to providea seminar and discuss just those issues. The turnout wasgreat and the response to it was very positive. We hope toprovide more college workshops as our student boardmembers have said they want as much information aboutpreparing for college as possible. Well also be hosting aMaster Drive night, to help students and parents preparefor teen driving. Its a seminar parents wont want to miss.

So were off to a good start on our goal to provide moreprograms for students and parents.

On Friday, we collected Reflections entries. Bringing this

program to our high school has been a dream of mine. Istrongly believe that the arts in school are vital to the de-

velopment of the whole brain and educational process, andthis program gives students a chance to participate andreceive recognition in the arts. In the past, Ive been in-

volved with the Reflections program at the elementaryschool level so it will be fun to see what our high schoolstudents can do. Kids with real passion for the arts, whohave progressed in their ability through the years should

be incredible in high school. Im certain our students willbe nothing but impressivemore about that next month.

Our car raffle is underway. Please help us support our stu-dents with more programs by purchasing a ticket today or

selling one to your neighbor or coworker. Only 600 ticketsare available, so your chance to win is good but the bottomline is that youll really be helping the school and PTSAhelp ALL students at our school. You can find more infor-mation on our website. Tickets can be purchased at anyschool event or in the office. You an also help without

The Pony Express

Volume 1 Issue 2

October 2010

Trabuco Hills High School PTSAPony Express

27501 Mustang Run, Mission Viejo, CA 92691 www.thhsptsa.org

(949) 768-1934

Trabuco Hills High School PTSA

Saddleback Valley PTA Council 4th District PTA California State PTA National PTA

Inside this issue:

Master Drive, Recycling 2

ASB, Grad Night 3

Best Buddies, State

PTSA Scholarships

4

College Search, Red

Ribbon Week

7

PTSA Legislative Rep 8

Dr. Clint Harwick 9

Volunteer Spotlight,

Calendar

11,

12

Please join us for our second

MEETING of the 2010-2011 year!Monday, Oct 18th at 7 pmMonday, Oct 18th at 7 pmMonday, Oct 18th at 7 pmMonday, Oct 18th at 7 pmIn the Library

Special Guest at 7:30pm: Michelle Mar

Health Educator, Project PATH,

Prescription and Over-the-Counter

Drug Abuse Prevention Workshop(see flyer on page 10 for details)

Craig Collins

Principal

Cindy Ashley

Editor

Andrea Padian

President

By Andrea Padian, PTSA President,[email protected]

A Message from Andrea


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A Message from AndreaA Message from AndreaA Message from AndreaA Message from Andrea (cont. from page 1)(cont. from page 1)(cont. from page 1)(cont. from page 1)

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spending a dime by signing up your Ralphs grocery clubcard with the PTSA. We get a percentage of every pur-

chase you make and it doesnt lessen your personal RalphsClub awards. Go to our website for more information onhow to sign up your card. But, do it today or those poten-tial contributions from Ralphs wont benefit anyone.

Finally, Id like to encourage everyone to join our PTSA.Our voices and support mean a great deal to this schoolfrom our advocacy efforts, to teacher luncheons, scholar-ships, student leadership opportunities and programs.

Were currently working to give our teachers mini-grantsfor items they need the district cannot provide, and were

even trying to fund simple supplies like paper, that nolonger have district funding. Were here for all students,

including you and your student. Please be part of this ef-fort. If you care about education and our teachers, stu-dents and school, you wont pretend it doesnt matter if

you join PTSA. It does matter. We need you and believe itor not, you need us. Be part of something meaningful andimportant. Join PTSA today. Go towww.thhsptsa.org anddownload a PTSA membership form. Drop it off at the of-fice or join at any PTSA association meeting.

Until next time, Go Blue!

Master Drive PresentationMaster Drive PresentationMaster Drive PresentationMaster Drive PresentationBy Kim Dennis, Parent Education Coordinator, [email protected]

On Wednesday, November 3rd at 6:30 pm in the MPR,the PTSA will host an evening with Master Drive of OrangeCounty. They will present an informative seminar on whatparents and teens need to know about smart and safedriving. The presentation will inform parents and stu-dents on how to start the Drivers education process as wellas the requirements and provisions of California Depart-ment of Motor vehicles.There is no charge and the PTSA welcomes all families to

attend. For all in attendance, Master Drive will give certifi-cate for a free classroom drivers education course. MasterDrive is one of many drivers education programs in the

area. While PTSA does notendorse any particular privatecompany, we support inform-ing parents of the manychoices, safety needs and education of our children as theyenter the new world of driving. Please look for updates onthe PTSA website for this and other parent education pro-grams throughout the year.

If you have any questions on this program or any parent

education needs, please contact me at the e-mail addressabove.

Recycling: Good for PTSA, Good for the Planet!Recycling: Good for PTSA, Good for the Planet!Recycling: Good for PTSA, Good for the Planet!Recycling: Good for PTSA, Good for the Planet!

The PTSA is collecting the following items for our recycling fundraiser:

ink cartridges

toner cartridges

cell phones

laptops

digital cameras

There is a collection box in the school office near Debi Hopes desk. If any-one would like a collection box for their business, please contact BrendaHanrath [email protected]. She will arrange for pickup as well.


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ASB News: Weve Got Spirit!ASB News: Weve Got Spirit!ASB News: Weve Got Spirit!ASB News: Weve Got Spirit!By Aiko Mackus, Senior Class President

Monica Ukah, Junior Class President

Henry Yin, Sophomore President

Hello Mustang Families!

ASB would like to take this opportu-nity to welcome all our new fresh-men and their families. The 2010-2011 school year is already showingsigns of promise!

LINK CREWLINK CREWLINK CREWLINK CREW

The Link Crew Freshman Orienta-tion offered a great way for our newfreshmen to get acquainted withtheir fellow classmates. Fun games,

fun people, and a fun atmospheremade the morning a memorableevent for all. As the freshmen movedfrom station to station, they had theopportunity to ask questions, findtheir classes, and interact with eachother.

SPIRIT DAYSSPIRIT DAYSSPIRIT DAYSSPIRIT DAYS

Whos got spirit? TRABUCOS GOTSPIRIT! If you were on campus forour first Spirit Day, you would have

noticed a giant wave of colors fromyellow to red to green to blue. Eachgrade level has their own color GotSpirit shirt: yellow for freshmen, redfor sophomores, green for juniorsand blue for the seniors. The all outspirit was absolutely amazing! Somestudents took it a step further and

dressed from head to toe in theircolor. There was a mini dance partyin the quad with students dancing,

jerking and just having fun. The nextGot Spirit? Day is on October 21st soshow your grade level pride by

dressing up! Please remember Mus-tangs: no paint is to be brought toschool.

HOMECOMINGHOMECOMINGHOMECOMINGHOMECOMING

Yo-Ho, Yo- Ho, its a pirates life forme! The Homecoming theme this

year is Pirates! Riley Logsdon andJoanna Chiang, Commissioners ofSocial Events, are in charge of plan-ning this years Homecoming.

Homecoming nomination ballots

have been sent out to the entireschool. Students vote for one senior

boy and one senior girl to be nomi-nated for court. Look forward to anawesome rally, exciting assembly,crazy cool half-time show and theextravagant Homecoming Dance

which will take place in the Quad, onSaturday, November 6th. Prices andannouncements about Homecoming

will be announced during announce-ments so stay tuned.

Grad Night 2011!!!Grad Night 2011!!!Grad Night 2011!!!Grad Night 2011!!!By Lisa Bauer, Grad Night co-chair, [email protected]

Our Grad Night Committee is grow-ing, but we still need more members!Our next meeting will be held thethird week of October (same week asthe PTSA meeting, details to be pro-

vided). Please e-mail Lisa Bauer [email protected] with yourname and contact information if youare interested in attending.

We distributed the senior survey ask-ing seniors their preferences on howthey wish to spend their grad nightand had a good response. Well betallying the responses and discussingthe findings at our next meeting. We

are looking forward to creating a won-derful event based on student feed-

back and participation!

The 2011 grads are encouraged to reg-ister early for this special evening inorder to take advantage of the dis-counted rate of $140. Download the

two forms from the PTSA website(http://www.thhsptsa.org) and clickon Grad Night from the menu bar onthe left, fill out with the required sig-natures. Make your check out to PTSAGrad Night. The registration formand check can be dropped off withDebi Hope, the receptionist.

October 2010, Volume 1 Issue 2


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Support the PTSA!

Buy Italian Ice

Fridays after school


Best Buddies: A Club for Everybody!Best Buddies: A Club for Everybody!Best Buddies: A Club for Everybody!Best Buddies: A Club for Everybody!By Sandra McElwee, Special Education Co-Chair

The beginning of the school year comes with much excite-

ment and anticipation for most students. The time to re-connect with friends and enjoy the social aspects of highschool are where many teens blossom. But oth-ers may feel left out, alone and unwelcome-afraid of the huge campus at THHS and somany students. According to Richard Villa, asense of belonging is required to be able tolearn at all, much less excel.

Last week during the Club Days, studentssigned up to belong to over 90 different curricu-lar and non-curricular clubs ranging from theMed-Sci to the James Brown Hacky Sack Club!

One curricular club provides the sense of be-longing and sets up the foundation for learning for manyof its members. Established in 1993, (the year many of our

juniors were born) Best Buddies pairs students in SpecialEducation with regular education students for one-to-onefriendships . Today the club is available in over 900 highschools world-wide.

Best Buddies was first established last year at THHS and

facilitated friendships for 16 student pairs, crossing theinvisible line that too often separates students with intel-lectual disabilities from those without.

While the pairs of students met for lunch weekly,called each other on the phone and participatedin a monthly club event, there were also 50 Asso-ciate Members who attended the weekly lunchmeetings and the monthly outings. While theBuddy Pairs are critical, the associate membersare key to the club's success and builds largercircles of friends for the students involved.

Last week 180 students signed up for this year'sBest Buddies Club! If you would like to be in-

volved with Best Buddies just see Mrs. Johnson in room513. Not only is Best Buddies a lot of fun, it is the connec-tion with other students in the school that allows all mem-

bers to be welcome, contributing participants in THHScampus life. Are you a Best Buddy?

State PTA Scholarships: Not Just for StudentsState PTA Scholarships: Not Just for StudentsState PTA Scholarships: Not Just for StudentsState PTA Scholarships: Not Just for StudentsBy Andrea Padian, PTSA President

Did you know that if you are a PTSA member at our

school, you may be eligible to apply for a California StatePTA scholarship for continuing education? Scholarshipsare available not only for graduating high school seniors,

but also for credentialed teachers and counselors, andPTA volunteers.

Scholarships are available to graduating high school sen-iors to commend extensive volunteer service in the schooland community. Scholarships are for use during the fallsemester or quarter following high school graduation andapplications must be received by February 1, 2011.

Credentialed teachers and counselors can apply for schol-arships for continuing education use, which can include

summer school. The due date for these scholarships is

November 15, 2010.

PTA volunteers with at least three years of PTA service arealso eligible to apply for scholarships to continue theireducation. Applications are due November 15, 2010.

For more information and to download an application, goto the California State PTA website at http://

www.capta.org/sections/programs/scholarships .cfm .Scholarships are $500 each. Dont miss out on this op-portunity for extra educational funding but you MUST bea PTA member to apply. To join, visit http://

www.thhsptsa.org and click on Membership on the lefthand side.


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Debunking the Lottery MythDebunking the Lottery MythDebunking the Lottery MythDebunking the Lottery MythBy Mike Padian, Advocacy and Legislative Representative

Myths usually start due to a lack of facts. Especially during this current economic downturn, many people dont under-

stand how education can be hurting for funding because most believe that the California Lottery supplies a huge amountof funding for education. But the facts are surprising and sobering. The California Lottery is expected this year to gen-erate $3.4 billion in revenues, 34% or $1.1 billion of which goes towards public education. Sounds like a lot of money,

but California Lottery proceeds account for only 2% of the statewide and SVUSD education budget. Thisboils down to about $125 per student per year. This means that school districts, like Saddleback Valley, have totrust the State to return our tax dollars for 98% of its funds.

When the state does not approve a budget on time (which they had not done as of Oct. 1 a new record), there are allkinds of ripple effects. School districts must plan their own budgets (due on time at the end of June) with guestimatesof state funding. Then, as in past years, the district must take out loans, with unreimbursed interest, to cover their costsuntil Sacramento completes their fiduciary responsibilities. And then, just to make a difficult problem worse, if the an-ticipated funding isnt in the final budget, the district is forced to make mid-year cuts to education.

California used to be consistently near the top, but is now 48th out of the 50 states in terms of expenditures per student.So now that you know, please spread the word so that your friends and neighbors have a better understanding of howlittle the Lottery provides, and why the PTA/PTSA fights so hard for your child.

Character Movie: The Jackie Robinson StoryCharacter Movie: The Jackie Robinson StoryCharacter Movie: The Jackie Robinson StoryCharacter Movie: The Jackie Robinson Story

The City of Mission Viejo would liketo invite the public to enjoy TheJackie Robinson Story on October17at City Hall as part of the freemovie series sponsored by the City'sCommunity of Character Commit-tee.

The movie, which stars baseball leg-end Jackie Robinson playing himself

in what has been described as a "neglected gem," starts at2:00 p.m. The film highlights Octobers Character Quality ofRespect.

Brooklyn Dodger President Branch Rickey selected Robinsonfor his athletic ability and outstanding character to break themajor league color barrier. Robinson's outstanding qualitiesled him to be selected the second most popular person in

America in 1947 and he was on Time Magazines list of the100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century.

Character educator Elaine Portnoy will lead a brief discussionfollowing the film that takes place in theater-style seating,large screen and surround-sound in the Mission Viejo CouncilChamber at 200 Civic Center.

As one of the most gifted athletes of the last century, Robin-son's story is inspirational and the film is especially recom-mended for youth of all ages participating in all types ofsports programs.

For more information about this free event, call 949-470-3094.

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Support the PTSA and Win a

Car!!!For just $50, you can purchase a raffle ticket to win a2010 Toyota Corolla LE 1838 from Capistrano Toyota.

Only 600 tickets will be sold and every ticket purchaserwill receive a coupon for 50% off an oil change at Ca-pistrano Toyota.

When will you ever have these kind of odds? Dont letthis chance slip away. For more details and purchaseinformation, visit thhsptsa.org.

(must be 18 to purchase a raffle ticket)

Arts AdvocacyArts AdvocacyArts AdvocacyArts AdvocacyBy Tish Witkin, Arts Advocate, [email protected]

On July 26, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a

resolution designating the second week of September as"Arts in Education Week." This resolution, H.Con.Res.275, states: "Arts Education, comprising a richarray of disciplines including dance, music,theatre, media arts, literature, design, and vis-ual arts, is a core academic subject and an es-sential element of a complete and balancededucation for all students." It was supportedthrough studies that showed teaching creativityand the arts contribute to higher test scoresacross the board in every subject, making stu-dents competitive in the global marketplaceand engaging children in learning, reducingtruancy and lowering the drop out rate. Spread-ing this message to the educational communityis what Arts Advocacy is all about.

With the budget crisis in our state, it is more importantthan ever that teachers, parents, administrators and stu-

dents understand the importance of including the arts in

education. Art classes are offered in the junior high andhigh school level, but the arts can also be brought into theregular classroom from K - 12 with creativeactivities that are tied to other subjects. We asparents, educators and students can advocatefor the inclusion of arts if we are aware of the

variety of art resources available to us. Thefollowing websites have a huge array of infor-mation to help motivate us all to do our partand use that creative side of our brain...checkthem out and have fun!

http://www.sparkoc.comhttp://www.ocartguide.comhttp://www.artsoc.orghttp://www.artsed411.orghttp://www.americansforthearts.org

...teachingcreativity and

the arts contrib-ute to highertest scoresacross the

board in everysubject



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The College SearchThe College SearchThe College SearchThe College Search

By Cindy Ashley, Newsletter Editor, [email protected]

If going away to a four year college isyour goal, then you may be over-whelmed with the number ofchoices. Your choice of major will

begin to narrow your options.

Not sure of what to study? Visit theOccupational Outlook Handbook(http://www.bls.gov/oco) for infor-mation on the training and educa-tion needed, earnings, expected jobprospects, job activities and workingconditions for hundreds of differenttypes of jobs.

You can search for colleges by vari-

ous criteria at http://www.collegeboard.com. They alsohave a lot of helpful information in-cluding an action plan for each gradelevel.

The Princeton Review offers a BestFit College Search at: http://

www.princetonreview.com/colleges-majors.aspx. Their website has a

wealth of information on majors,college rankings and best value col-leges.

Once youve identified a particularschool that you are interested in,visit their website to see if they aregoing to have a representative visit-ing our area. Visit http://

www.trabucohills.org/?p=guidanceto see colleges who will be visitingour school in the Career Center for alunch time visit.

COLLEGE WEEK LIVECOLLEGE WEEK LIVECOLLEGE WEEK LIVECOLLEGE WEEK LIVE

CollegeWeekLive is a free, onlineevent designed to connect prospec-tive students with colleges and uni-

versities in a live, interactive envi-ronment. They have events with in-dividual colleges along with largeevents with many colleges. Novem-

ber 3rd and 4th is their next largeevent and over 300 colleges will beparticipating. Visit http://

www.collegeweeklive.comfor moreinformation.

LOCAL COLLEGE NIGHTS & FAIRSLOCAL COLLEGE NIGHTS & FAIRSLOCAL COLLEGE NIGHTS & FAIRSLOCAL COLLEGE NIGHTS & FAIRS

While our district no longer has col-lege fairs, you are welcome to attendothers in the area.

Oct. 13 (Wed) 7-9pm, Newport MesaUSD, Orange County Fairgrounds,Building #12.

Oct. 19 (Tues) 7-9pm, Mater Dei HS,Mereuelo Athletic Center, 1202 W.Edinger Ave, Santa Ana.

Oct 27 (Wed) 7-9pm, Orange USD,El Modena HS, 3920 Spring St, Or-

ange, CA.Nov. 8 (Mon) 7-9pm, Tustin USD,Foothill HS, Gym, 19251 Dodge Ave,Santa Ana.

Mar. 24, 2011 (Thurs) 9am-12pm, 6-8:30pm, National Assn for College

Admission Counseling, San DiegoConvention Center, 111 W. Harbor

Drive, San Diego

Apr 2, 2011 (Sat) 1:30-4:30, NationalAssn. for College Admissions, Ana-heim Convention Center, 800 W.Katella Ave, Anaheim, CA.

INDIVIDUAL COLLEGE NIGHTSINDIVIDUAL COLLEGE NIGHTSINDIVIDUAL COLLEGE NIGHTSINDIVIDUAL COLLEGE NIGHTS

Purdue UniversityOct 13 (Wed)6:30-8:30 , Crowne Plaza Hotel, 17941

Von Karman, Irvine

RSVP: http://www.admissions.purdue.edu/PreviewPurdue

Tufts UniversityOct 13 (Wed) 7pm,Sage Hill School, Multimedia LectureHall, 20402 Newport Coast Drive,Newport, Newport Beach, CA.

Point Loma Nazarene UniversityOct 14 (Tues) 7-9pm, Hilton Irvine(OC Airport).

Georgetown UniversityOct 18(Mon), Sage Hill (see above).

Duke UniversityOct 25 (Mon),7:30pm, Toger Woods Learning Cen-ter, One Tiger Woods Way, Anaheim,

CA.To register, go to: http://

www.admissions.duke.edu

This year, Red Ribbon Week (RRW) is Oct 23rd-31st.RRW is a way for communities to take a stand againstsubstance abuse. Here are a few events to commemoratethis event:

Game NightOct 13 (Wed) 6:30-8:30 in the MissionHospital Pavilion Conference Room. Lots of food, games,prizes and fun! RSVP: [email protected]. Visit http://

www.ptsa.org for a flyer.

22nd Annual Walk Against Drugs Oct 23rd (Sat)

Red Ribbon WeekRed Ribbon WeekRed Ribbon WeekRed Ribbon Week

By Cindy Ashley, Newsletter Editor, [email protected]

8am beginning with a rally atMission Viejo High School Sta-dium.

Rock N Road OC-Oct 23(Sat) 2-8pm, The Block at Or-ange. An interactive rock mu-sic festival featuring local high school bands competing inBattle of the Bands, a variety of games, giveaways, infor-mational booths and more.


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The Elections are Coming, the Elections are Coming!The Elections are Coming, the Elections are Coming!The Elections are Coming, the Elections are Coming!The Elections are Coming, the Elections are Coming!

By Mike Padian, Advocacy and Legislative Representative

Since major national, state and localelections are coming, this is a goodtime to review what the PTA standsfor and what they do. The PTA is anadvocacy charitable organization

with the primary goal of supportingour kids education and welfare, asembodied by their motto everychild, one voice. The PTAs advo-cacy guidelines are as follows:

The PTA is non partisan and neverendorses or opposes any candidatefor public office.

The PTA does take positions on is-sues that affect children and youth.

A position adopted by the CaliforniaPTA on a statewide measure is theofficial PTA position for all Califor-nia state PTA units (individualschools)

If the State PTA has taken a positionon a ballot measure, all PTA unitsare strongly encouraged, but notrequired, to actively work for thePTA position. However, a PTA unit

maynot take action in opposition tothe State PTA position. As a citizen,

you have the right to your own indi-vidual opinion, but when you arerepresenting the PTA, you must ad-

vocate the PTA position or say noth-ing at all.

NATIONAL EFFORTSNATIONAL EFFORTSNATIONAL EFFORTSNATIONAL EFFORTS

$1.75 of your PTA membership feegoes to the National PTA. On a na-tional level, the PTA continues itslobbying efforts to increase parentinvolvement, to increase opportunityand equity for all children, and tochampion better childhood health.Specifically, the PTA is supportingkey elements of the following piecesof legislation working their waysthrough Congress:

Elementary and Secondary Educa-tion Act, also known as the NoChild Left Behind, reauthoriza-tion; the PTA is pushing to

strengthen the parent involvementand engagement provisions.

Juvenile Justice and Delin-quency Act reauthorization; thePTA is advocating for revisions that

will protect youth from being jailedfor truancy or exposed to the rigorsof prison while awaiting trial.

Child Nutrition and WomenInfant Children Act reauthori-zation; the PTA supports this billsefforts to improve child health and

wellness.

In addition, the recently enactedEducation Jobs program provides$1.2 billion to California to be usedto save or create an estimated16,000 K-12 jobs for the 2010-2011school year. The funds are schoolsite based (i.e., not for central ad-ministration), but, unfortunately, itis a one-time only program, and thefunds are available only on a use itor lose it basis. The SaddlebackUnified School District is expected toreceive approximately $6.1 million

of these funds, and will be used pri-marily for maintaining current staff-ing levels.

STATE BALLOT MEASURES AND OFFI-STATE BALLOT MEASURES AND OFFI-STATE BALLOT MEASURES AND OFFI-STATE BALLOT MEASURES AND OFFI-

CIALSCIALSCIALSCIALS

$1.25 of your PTA membership feegoes to the California State PTA. Inaddition to its continued efforts toconvince state officials to adopt a

budget in a timely manner, to findbetter ways to protect and increaseexisting funding mechanisms, and to

implement new sources of funding,the State PTA has formally adoptedpositions on the following ballotmeasures:

NEUTRAL: Prop. 19, Legalizeand Regulate Marijuana

SUPPORT: Prop. 24, Tax Fair-ness Act

SUPPORT: Support Prop. 25, Sim-ple Majority Approval of State

BudgetThere are also only two individualsrunning for the State Superinten-dent of Public Instruction. Pleaseacquaint yourself with the candi-dates positions, and vote for the onethat best represents what you wantto see in the management of thestatewide school systems. Expandedstatements of the two Superinten-dent candidates, as well as specialstatements from the Democratic andRepublican governor candidates, can

be found in a Special Election Edi-tion of the State PTA Newsletter un-der the Whats New section of thestate PTA website at www.capta.org.

LOCAL ELECTIONSLOCAL ELECTIONSLOCAL ELECTIONSLOCAL ELECTIONS

$.60 of your membership fee goes tothe local PTA 4th District, which cov-ers all of Orange County, and a smallsection of Los Angeles County. The4th District is the largest PTA groupin the world, and we have a reputa-tion of being an organization to betaken seriously. In addition to sup-

porting the national and state PTAgoals and lobbying efforts, the 4thDistrict pushes hard to increase par-ent, teacher, and student involve-ment in the education system.

$.65 of your membership fee goes tothe Saddleback Valley PTA Council.

You will not find any candidates forthe SVUSD School Board on this

years ballot. This is because onlytwo people were running for the twoopen positions, so the two candi-dates automatically won! Fortu-nately, the two new Board Members,Dolores Winchell and Dennis Walsh,are very-respected, long-serving offi-cers of the Saddleback District PTA,so we are well-represented!

Bottom line, voting in open electionsin the United States is a right andprivilege that is not available to mostof the people of the world. Make adifference, and be sure to vote onNovember 2, 2010!



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Dr. Clint Harwick, Our New SuperintendentDr. Clint Harwick, Our New SuperintendentDr. Clint Harwick, Our New SuperintendentDr. Clint Harwick, Our New Superintendent


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Words to Ponder.

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity

in every difficulty.

Winston Churchill

Dr. Clint Harwick was hired as the

Superintendent of the SaddlebackValley Unified School District Sep-tember 1, 2010. He served his lastseven years as Superintendent atCharter Oak Unified School Dis-trict and Rim of the World UnifiedSchool District. Prior to his ser-

vice as Superintendent, he heldseveral positions at ClaremontUnified School District, includingDirector of Classified Personnel

and Alternative Education, Principal, Assistant Principal,Dean of Students, Activities Director, and high school

teacher. He is also an athlete and played for the Cubs. Hecomes from a family of educators and brags that he hasalways worked in education, from his first job in college asa custodian to his current position as Superintendent

While at Charter Oaks, he had to cut 25% from theirbudget over three years, so he is not new to the budgetproblems we have had to deal with at SVUSD. He saidthese cuts were made working as a team and he is allabout team work. When asked about the challenges ourdistrict faces, his response was simple, Is it a challenge oran opportunity? His philosophy is to regard challengesas opportunities for growth (OFG.) He believes that wehave the time, space and talent to make great things hap-

pen and he isnt all about test scores. Speaking at aSVPTA Council Principal & Presidents breakfast, Dr. Har-

wich said, Its also about the time our teachers take toprepare for that first day of schoolIts about the500,000 PTA volunteer hours put in by SVUSD parentsand others last year, and its about kids learning a schoolfight song. Hes all about the whole picture. When doingresearch, he chose not to look at why kids fail he wasntinterested in that. He chose instead to look at why stu-

dents succeed. And he discovered that the number one

reason kids were successful was because there was anadult in their life that believed in them whether it was aparent, a principal, a custodian or an aunt. He believes weare all ambassadors to our schools. We can have an im-pact on our students educations and the way they feelabout themselves. He believes supporting people in thisprocess is very important and he never hesitates to saythank you. He is a believer that the best thing we can do isto connect with kids, whether they are on top, in the mid-dle or at the bottom, and no matter what it takes, to letthem know we love them anyway.

As superintendent, adjunct professor and community vol-unteer, Dr. Harwick has listened to the voices of parents,

community members and, most importantly, students,and he comes away with the belief that public education isan investment in the future. He focuses on modeling char-acteristics of trust and dedication while providing strate-gies in motivation, team-building, and problem-solving

which empower others to help students improve instruc-tionally, emotionally, and socially.

After the Board of Education finished their initial inter-views, they held an informal vote, before any discussions,to see if any person stood out. Dr. Harwicks name cameup as the unanimous choice. The decision was then madeto conclude the search. He was a clear winner, and as aPTSA in this district, we all look forward to meeting withhim more. He doesnt forget a face, seems incrediblyopen and as they say, doesnt let grass grow under hisfeethes a doer. We hope to have him join us at a futurePTSA meeting so stay tuned.

Dr. Harwick earned his Bachelors degree from the Uni-versity of Redlands, and his Masters and Doctorate fromAzusa Pacific University. He and his wife, Lisa, have twosons.



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Trabuco Hills High School PTSA with Community Service Programs, Inc. Project PATH presents:

When |Monday, October 18, 2010

Where |Library, Trabuco Hills High School

Time|7:30pm 8:00pm (immediately following the PTSA meeting)

Presenter | Michelle Mar, Health Educator with Project PATH

Snacks and Refreshments will be provided

When taken responsibly, prescription (Rx) and over- the- counter (OTC) medicines provide millions with relief

from a variety of ailments. However, over the past several years abuse of these types of medicine has in-

creased at alarming rates. 1 in 5 teens abuse prescription drugs to get high while 1 in 10 teens abuse cough

medicine to get high.

Mission Viejo is no exception to this trend. Data from the California Healthy Kids Survey revealed that 10% ofSaddleback Unified School District 9th

graders and 15% of 11th

graders participated in prescription pain killer

abuse. Accessibility to Rx and OTC drugs is easier than one might think

Come join us to learn about the prevalence of Rx/OTC drug abuse among teens, steps towards prevention,

and what you can do to limit access and availability to these drugs.

If you are in need of assistance, please contact Michelle Mar at [email protected]

Community Service Programs, Inc. | Project PATH | 714.441.0807

Funding provided by the County of Orange Health Care Agency Alcohol and Drug Education and Prevention Team (ADEPT)

Prescription & Over-the-Counter Drug Abuse

Prevention Workshop


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One of my goals as your new PTSA president is to commu-nicate better with our school family and surroundingcommunity. At a time when there seems to be so littlegood news in education, we are proud of the thingsPTSA does to support ALL our students, teachers, parentsand school. When I thought about this idea, I knew I

wanted to have an actual PTSA newsletter availableonline. I knew I wanted to have more information up-dated regularly on our PTSA website. And, I wanted tospread the word about our great PTSA through local pub-lications, so the entire community could learn more about

what we are doing. With that said, I have to commendthree very special people that have been instrumental inour efforts to better communicate and therefore help mefulfill my goal.

The moment I mentioned our website, Deb Johnson,who had been working on it already, jumped in with bothfeet, on fire, and started to redo the entire site. It is a greatsource of information and updated every week as needed.Please be sure to go there (http://www.thhsptsa.org ) and

youll see what I mean. As a full-time working mom, I ap-preciate very much the long hours Deb has spent doingthis for our school and PTSA. She has graciously agreedto help with this for an extended time and we are all inawe of her amazing talents and insights where websitesare concerned. She hasnt quit working on this since lastspring and I must thank her for all her hard work. When

you have board members like Deb, you are on a winning

team. Thank you Deb!

Cindy Ashley, our newsletter editor, took the ball andran with it, too. As soon as I mentioned a newsletter, she

was on board and I can tell you from experience, put-

Mustang Marvels: Volunteer SpotlightMustang Marvels: Volunteer SpotlightMustang Marvels: Volunteer SpotlightMustang Marvels: Volunteer Spotlight

ting a first issue together from scratch is not easy. Shesearched other school sites to compare and has put to-gether a great newsletter. Again, this didnt happen overnight. It took a lot planning, training, and research, and Ithink she has done a wonderful job for us. If you arereading this now, you can see how helpful a newsletter isin getting out lots of PTSA information and event remind-ers, as well as articles from our guidance counselors, prin-cipal, ASB and other school news. I cant thank herenough for taking on this job on top of her job as Volun-teer Coordinator! Again, Cindy is another wonderful assetto our PTSA board and I hope you enjoy reading theseissues of thePony Express as much as I do. Thank youCindy!

And lastly, Id like to thankKaryn Bower who wears twohats as well and works full-time. She is our board secre-tary, but she has also helped tremendously in bringing ournews to the community. She does all our publicity andhas monthly stories in several publications such as theCanyon News, andRancho Santa Margarita

Newspapers. This is great, as it helps us promote ourPTSA and provides more support and recognition for ourschool, teacher and student programs. As the PTSA mottogoesevery child, one voice. We want everyone tocare about our school and school community. With 3300students, we have a lot to be proud of and want to makesure everyone is working towards the same things we are better educational opportunities for our students bet-

ter citizens for our community. Thank you, Karyn.

Everyone on our PTSA board is a star, but these threewomen have really worked hard during these first monthsto increase our communications and they have succeeded!

1. Buy a raffle ticket! (see previous page)

2. Sell raffle tickets and earn 10% of ticket sales for your THHS group!

3. Register your Ralphs card. Visit http://www.thhsptsa.org and scroll down

to Ralphs Club Card in the Latest News section.

4. Recycle your used printer cartridges and cell phones. Drop box located nearMrs. Hopes desk in the office.

5. Buy a Mustang Discount card for only $10 and get great discounts at 28 lo-cal businesses. To see the complete list, visit thhsptsa.org, click on Formsand scroll down to THHS PTSA Discount card flyer.

6. Visit http://escrip.com and earn money for the PTSA while you shop. OurGroup ID is 10482514.

Supporting PTSA Has Never Been Easier!Supporting PTSA Has Never Been Easier!Supporting PTSA Has Never Been Easier!Supporting PTSA Has Never Been Easier!

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The Pony Express

Mark Your Calendar...

October 14Back to School Night (Minimum Day)

October 16PSAT

October 17, 2pmMission Viejo free Movie of Character, The Jackie Robin-

son Story at City Hall. Call 470-3094 for more information.

October 18, 7pmPTSA General Meeting, MPR, with special guest speaker,

Michelle Mar presenting Prescription & Over-the-Counter Drug Abuse Pre-vention Workshop

October 23rd-31st, Red Ribbon Week

October 23, 2-8pmRock N Road Red Ribbon Week Celebration at the Block

in Orange (See http://www.rocknroadoc.info for details)

November 3, 6:30pmMaster Drive Teen Driving Seminar in the MPR(parents and teens welcome)

November 6thHomecoming Dance

November 11No school (Veterans Day)

November 12No school (California Admission Day Observation)

November 15deadline for seniors to apply for State PTA scholarships (see

http://www.capta.orgfor details)

November 15, 7pmPTSA General Meeting, MPR

BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHTBACK TO SCHOOL NIGHTBACK TO SCHOOL NIGHTBACK TO SCHOOL NIGHTOCT 14thOCT 14thOCT 14thOCT 14th6:30pm6:30pm6:30pm6:30pm

LOOK FOR THE PTSA BOOTH!!!LOOK FOR THE PTSA BOOTH!!!LOOK FOR THE PTSA BOOTH!!!LOOK FOR THE PTSA BOOTH!!!

WE WILL BE SELLING RAFFLE TICKETS,WE WILL BE SELLING RAFFLE TICKETS,WE WILL BE SELLING RAFFLE TICKETS,WE WILL BE SELLING RAFFLE TICKETS,

DISCOUNT CARDS, MEMBERSHIPS &DISCOUNT CARDS, MEMBERSHIPS &DISCOUNT CARDS, MEMBERSHIPS &DISCOUNT CARDS, MEMBERSHIPS &

HAVE FLYERS FOR RALPHS &HAVE FLYERS FOR RALPHS &HAVE FLYERS FOR RALPHS &HAVE FLYERS FOR RALPHS &

MASTERDRIVE PRESENTATION!!!MASTERDRIVE PRESENTATION!!!MASTERDRIVE PRESENTATION!!!MASTERDRIVE PRESENTATION!!!

Documents

Oct 2010 PTSA Pony Express Newsletter