April 14, 2024

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Monday & Tuesday - Regular Schedule

Wednesday - Late Start

Thursday - Mini Assembly schedule

Friday - Regular Schedule

PVPHS Link Crew presents… 

OPERATION FRESHFEST: 0027 

Freshmen, this week is your week! The fun begins Monday, featuring activities every day to test your spy skills and prepare for the big Freshfest bash on Friday! Buy your Freshfest tickets for In-N-Out from the Student Store now through Friday. You must have a ticket to get In-N-Out; they’re free with Link Crew card or $10 without. There are a limited number of tickets available, so get yours ASAP. Check out Link Crew’s Instagram (@pvphslinkcrew) and the daily bulletin to stay up-to-date on each day’s events. Friday will bring the culmination of this week in our exciting big bash starting with a sixth period assembly and continuing with food and fun until 4:30pm. Check out this promotional video for more info:  

https://youtu.be/tZiH8UfJPk0?si=F_X1cAAX-wlPn4Om 

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Follow Dr. Kuykendall on Instagram @pvphsprincipal for his weekly messages about what's happening on campus

ATTENTION ALL JUNIORS:

Please mark your calendar for Wednesday, May 15th, at 8:30am! Your high school counselor will be holding a group meeting to discuss very important topics, such as the college process, requesting a letter of recommendation, and exploring future careers. An email will be sent home in May with exact room locations for each counselor. Although it is highly recommended for every junior to attend, please note that anyone who plans to request a counselor letter of recommendation MUST be in attendance. We look forward to seeing you there, juniors!

Free Summer School Option

Looking for a free option for your Summer School Course? Come to hear what Harbor College has to offer PVPUSD students in the areas of Art and Social Studies. A counselor from Harbor College will be here Thursday, April 18 during lunchtime in the CCC. They will review the steps for enrolling, the format the course will take, and support you in completing your application. Come by the CCC Thursday, April 18 during lunch to learn more. 

Attention Students: 

SoCal ROC, in partnership with LA Harbor College, is now offering a FREE college credit course this Spring semester! Students can earn 1 unit of college credit and 3 high school elective credits.  

Enroll in Career Planning!  

5 week, in-person course at SoCal ROC 

2 days a week, after school at 5pm  

Begins on Monday, April 29th!  

Please note, students for this particular class will need their own transportation. 

This is an educational and career planning course designed to help students make meaningful decisions regarding career goals. The course includes career assessments, various self-appraisal techniques, and information regarding career characteristics and trends.  

There are 4 steps to enroll in this course: 1. Complete a SoCal ROC enrollment form. 2. Apply for a Student ID number through Harbor College 3. Complete a K-12 form. 4. Enroll in the course through Harbor College. Contact your SoCal ROC career guidance specialist at  [email protected] or 310-224-4240 for more detailed information and assistance with enrollment ASAP! 

APRIL is recognized as National Stress Awareness Month to bring attention to the negative impact of stress. Managing stress is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle. Knowing how to manage stress can improve mental and physical well-being as well as minimize exacerbation of health-related issues. 

MOMENTUM: This is US - Spring Dance Show April 16, 17, 18 

The big event that you have been waiting for is ALMOST HERE! Tickets are on sale from any Peninsula Dancer for $15 cash or checks. NO TICKETS SOLD AT THE DOOR! You can also purchase tickets from Mrs. Tsudama in the South Dance room during Panther time and Lunch. 

Calling all Changemakers! Apply for our Service Learning Leadership Class!  

Interested in making our school, community and world a better place? Apply for our Service Learning Leadership class and plan Walk for Life, Willenberg, the food drive, blood drive and more. This UC approved elective teaches leadership skills in a fun, warm and dynamic environment. If you like to work hard, make a difference and make lifelong friendships, this class is for you. Applications are due May 3rd and can be found here. Printed copies are available in the North Dance Room. Make sure to also sign up for an interview through the link on the applications. Questions? See or chat Ms. Myrick. See also our Instagram here, our website here and an "About us!" video here 

Attention current 9th grade students: 

Current 9th graders who are interested in joining AVID as a sophomore will now be able to apply for a limited number of open spots.  If you are a student who falls in the academic middle and could use some help with organization, come by H52 at LUNCH on 4/17 or 4/18 for a MANDATORY information session. Following attendance of one of the information sessions, interested students will be given an application and teacher/counselor evaluations will be requested. Interviews will follow. Questions? Email [email protected] 

PVPHS Panthers Ella Cho and Claire Dokko were recently selected as National NHS scholarship winners. Claire was awarded $3200 as a semi-finalist and Ella was awarded $5625 as a finalist and received an all-expense paid trip to Washington DC, where she collaborated with the 24 other finalists, NHS advisors and each state's Assistant Principal of the Year (APOY) finalist. They visited the Eisenhower Executive Office and the National Portrait Gallery among other DC sites. Claire and Ella represent 2 of the 8 scholarship winners from Pen High in the last 5 years.  

Ella Cho is an aspiring engineer who splits her days between building robots and building community. As the manufacturing director of a world championship-qualifying robotics team, she led the prototyping, machining, and testing of $20,000 robots. While volunteering as a teacher at numerous STEM camps for children in her community, she noticed a disheartening ratio of boy-to-girl participants that was further reflected on her robotics team. Fueled by this, Ella led the Girls in STEM club and published a children’s book, Yuna Soars With STEM, to encourage more girls to enter STEM fields. In another initiative, she converted toy cars into motorized wheelchairs for children with cerebral palsy and was inspired to continue her research in affordable assistive mobility devices by designing and building a motorized exoskeleton that helps children with severe cerebral palsy walk. She is very grateful to have been selected as a finalist for the NHS Scholarship and enjoyed the opportunity to speak to education policymakers in Washington DC in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building alongside 24 incredible students from across the United States. 

Claire Dokko is a bright individual who is passionate about research, biology, and environmental health/justice. In school, she is involved as a Link Crew Commissioner, President of Science Research, Co-President of the Science National Honor Society, and TSA Co-Captain. Outside of school, you can often find Claire working at a lab conducting stem cell research, creating short films for the Aquarium of the Pacific, or fundraising for cataract surgeries in Guatemala. Claire hopes to pursue a career as a physician-scientist, translating research into real-world applications. 

Congratulations Ella and Claire! Go Panthers! 

FRC Robotics Team East Bay Regional Competition

From April 4th to 7th, Team 2637, Phantom Catz, attended their second regional competition, East Bay Regional. Located at Berkeley High School, California, Phantom Catz competed in a pool of 60 teams from all different locations, including teams from Turkey and Australia. Competing with some of the top teams in the world, where we saw multiple world records being broken, Team 2637 worked diligently on their robot and cheered ecstatically throughout the competition. They were able to consistently score points in the amp as well as with climbing. At the end of the competition, the team received the regional Impact Award, the most prestigious award in FIRST for their efforts in making STEAM accessible to underrepresented communities. Phantom Catz will soon be headed to the championship in Houston, and are excited to compete and represent Palos Verdes Peninsula High School!

Communications Survey 

One of our district goals is to improve communication between our district and the PVPUSD community. As part of these ongoing efforts, we are conducting a communication survey to gather feedback on our current efforts. This survey will ask you questions about our current methods of communication, including what is working well and where improvement may be needed. 

Your feedback is incredibly valuable and will be used to make future improvements to our district’s communication strategies. To take the survey, please visit PVPUSDsurvey.org. Thank you in advance for your time and input! 

Parents/Guardians of 6th-12th Grade Students: 

Save the Date for a virtual screening of Screenagers Under the Influence: Addressing Vaping, Drugs, and Alcohol in the Digital Age. 

When: May 1 

Time: 9:30am, 12:30pm, 7:00pm 

*Choose any of the above times to log in and join the Zoom Webinar 

Zoom Webinar Link: 

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88929189177 

Duration of screening: 1 hour and 15 minutes 

For more information prior to watching the video, please read the synopsis below or go to the Screenagers website (link is at the bottom of the synopsis) so that you are aware of the content (especially if you choose to watch the video with your student). 

SYNOPSIS: 

‍Screenagers Under The Influence: Addressing Vaping, Drugs, and Alcohol in the Digital Age, the third feature documentary in the Screenagers trilogy, delves into how the tech revolution has reshaped adolescence and its effects on substance use. The film debunks myths and depicts strategies parents and schools can use to encourage healthy decision-making, support teen mental health, set limits, and create healthy home environments. The film also includes many ways young people are using their wisdom and strength to help each other and themselves through this complicated terrain around substance use. 

While most documentaries about substance use focus on severe addiction, Screenagers Under The Influence fills a pressing need for a film that explores more common scenarios. The film is grounded in teens’ current reality of being flooded by images on social media, movies, and TV shows about vaping, drugs, and alcohol. 

Like the first two Screenagers films, Screenagers Under The Influence interweaves cutting-edge science with personal stories to create an informative and entertaining film experience for young people and adults alike. Screenagers Under The Influence focuses on practical solutions for keeping our teens safe in a changing world. 

https://www.screenagersmovie.com/ 

For more information, please contact Becky Egan at [email protected] 

Our community partner, South Bay Families Connected, offers our families a variety of youth wellness resources. For Mental Health Awareness Month, we feature their resource pages covering trending youth wellness topics on the minds of parents and caregivers: 

• Supporting healthy social media and screen time management 
• Recognizing and supporting mental health challenges 
• Understanding and managing stress and anxiety 
• Helping youth build healthy relationships and fostering empathy and compassion 
• Practicing mindful parenting 

Visit our own PVPUSD Families Connected webpage for more youth wellness resources from PVPUSD and SBFC. 

The new allcove Beach Cities mental health and wellness center is now open and welcomes everyone 12-25 years old in your district! The center is designed FOR and BY youth to reduce stigma, embrace mental wellness, and provide access to a variety of services. You can go check out allcove on the 4th floor at 514 N. Prospect Ave. in Redondo Beach. allcove is open Tues.-Fri. 1 - 7 pm and Sat. 10 am - 2 pm. Check us out on Instagram @allcovebeachcities or the website for more info. on services offered. 

Sincerely, 

Brent Kuykendall 

GO PANTHERS!

**If you would like to submit an item for the Principal's Update, it must be emailed to [email protected] by Thursday at 3:15 pm to be in that Sunday's update**

All District programs, activities, and practices shall be free from unlawful discrimination, including discrimination against an individual or group based on race, color, ancestry, nationality, national origin, immigration status, ethnic group identification, ethnicity, age, religion, marital status, pregnancy, parental status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or genetic information; a perception of one or more of such characteristics; or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.  

Title IX Contact: Richard Licciardello, 310-378-9966 x 417  

Section 504 Contact: Michael Bosler, 310-378-9966 x 444  

375 Via Almar, Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274  

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Visit our website for additional information

www.pvphs.pvpusd.net