Righetti High School Newsletter

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RY 201 7 • VOL UME 9 • ISSU E6

Righetti Review Principal’s Message Happy New Year Warrior Parents, Construction of our new 38-classroom building facility is in full swing. This is a very large endeavor with a completion estimate of about 24 months. Be sure to take a look at the blueprint picture of the future facility inside this newsletter.

College acceptance letters are pouring in and will continue to throughout the next several weeks. We are proud of our seniors whose years of hard work and perseverance is beginning to pay off. It’s always so much fun seeing the excitement (and relief) of a college acceptance on a student’s face. This leads me to Graduation 2017. I know it seems early, but I wanted to share information with you now so that you can make plans and have your family and friends ‘save the date’. Righetti’s Class of 2017 Graduation ceremony will be held on Thursday, June 8th, 2017 at 9:30 a.m. in the Warrior Stadium.

One of our goals for continuous improvement here at Righetti is to increase parent participation and to offer a variety of resources and tools that our parents find useful. Through our well-attended Social Media Parent evening last November, we and PTSA found that many of you would appreciate receiving training in different aspects of technology. So, we are happy to announce that ERHS’s Technology Coordinator, Geri Coats will hold her first hands-on training for parents on Wednesday, February 1st at 6:00 p.m. in the Library. The topic for the evening is “How to Connect in the Social Media World”. You will learn what current social media apps your students are using and step by step instructions on how you, too can connect. Additional parent trainings on a variety of topics will take place on March 1st and April 5th.

We hope you can find the time to attend one or more of these important evenings.

With Warrior Pride, Karen Rotondi Principal ww.righetti.us

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Principal Karen Rotondi Assistant Principals Jose Iniguez Sal Reynoso Gene Rickman Address 941 East Foster Road, Santa Maria, CA 93455 Phone Number (805) 937-2051 Main Office Fax Number (805) 934-0819 Athletics Fax Number (805) 937-9361 Guidance Fax Number (805) 937-2041

“Righetti Review” January 2017 • Issue 6 Published Six Times Per Year Righetti High School SMJUHSD 2560 Skyway Drive Santa Maria, CA 93455

Making it Happen!

PTSA Direct Donations

A huge thank you to the Powell family for their recent Gold Level donation and for their sustained generosity and support for the past four years.

Your direct donations have allowed us to serve the students, faculty, and staff of RHS more fully and we appreciate it very much!

PTSA Presents – Thank You!

The PTSA hosted a parent forum in November to discuss the impact of social media on our students, school environment, and family life. Thank you to all who attended, to our panel speakers, and especially to Ms. Rotondi, Geri Coats, and Jennifer Dolan, who were all crucial to the planning and provided valuable resources and information to our families! We look forward to presenting more parent nights in the near future – stay tuned!

PTSA Contributors • • • • • • • •

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Melanie Milburn – Bronze The VanPatten family - Bronze The Powell family - Platinum The Trenev family - Bronze The Smith family - Bronze (Cherie and Preston) The McCullough/Risinger family - Bronze The Gamberutti Family - Silver Karen Rotondi - Bronze

It’s never too early to start planning for college! Join Ms. Trujillo, Freshman Counselor and Mrs. Miranda, UCSB EAOP Coordinator for College Making It Happen Night. Parents and students will learn how to prepare and stay on track in high school to be college eligible.

February 9, 2017 • 6:00-7:00 pm Righetti Cafeteria

AP/Honors Information Night 3/23/16 @ 6pm in the Cafeteria Incoming 9th graders to current 11th graders are invited to this informational night to learn about the benefits of taking AP/Honors courses and the requirements.

AP Exams AP Exams will be on sale February 1, 2017 in the business office. The fee for each exam is $93.

Exams will be on sale February 1, 2017 through February 28, 2017. Absolutely no tests may be purchased after February 28th. AP testing will be held on May 1, 2017 – May 12, 2017. For more information, please contact the school or visit www.collegeboard.org online.

PAGE 3 Mission: Admission Challenge Congratulations to the Top 5 Schools in the Mission: Admission Challenge This Fall USC’s Pullias Center for Higher Education and Get Schooled partnered together for another round of the Mission: Admission Challenge which used friendly competition, games and social media to make the college application process more transparent and engaging for students. The goal was for students to build on a college going culture, learn about the college application process and apply to college through a simulation of real life activities in the Mission: Admission game.

This Fall we saw fantastic dedication and participation from our cohort.

After a careful and systematic review we are happy to announce the top 5 schools in our Challenge: • Critical Design & Gaming School, Los Angeles, CA • Deer Valley High School, Antioch, CA • Ernest Righetti High School, Santa Maria, CA • Highlands High School, North Highlands, CA • Mare Island Technology Academy, Vallejo, CA Congratulations to our top performers and a big shout out to Deer Valley High School for attaining the highest percentage of students who got their character into college. Deer Valley’s commitment to the Challenge shined from beginning to end and we applaud the students for your continuous engagement in the learning process. Our top 5 schools will be receiving their calculated incentives based on points and an additional $1000.

Earn more later. Spend less now.

College graduates earn more than those with only a high school diploma.

Level of Education

Annual Income

Hancock’s fees are still among the lowest in the nation.

2016-17 Annual Tuition/Fees (based on 24 units/year)

High school graduate . . . . . . . . . $31,872

Stanford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $47,940

Associate degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $44,300

UC Berkeley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $14,073

Bachelor’s degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . $58,752

UCSB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $13,518

Professional degree . . . . . . . . . . . $93,840

Cal Poly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 9,000

(Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Hancock was named the 12th most affordable community college in the nation by AffordableColleges.com

Financial aid is available.

Go to www.hancockcollege.edu/financial_aid

Fresno State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 6,311 Allan Hancock College . . . . . . . $1,152

tion a rm www.hancockcollege.edu Info Call 805-922-6966

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FFA Righetti FFA members visited Patterson Road School to show kids that trees are important every day and not just for Christmas.

The Warriors today brought a dozen trees to the Orcutt campus where they joined third and fourth-graders. Together, they planted them on the edge of green play field. The FFA members also had plenty of time to talk about tree care and agriculture with the youngsters.

FFA Sophomore Eduardo Olvera said the community outreach will help the youngsters take pride in their school.

“These students will have an opportunity to come back years from now and see what they helped plant and that is very cool,’’ Olvera said. “It was fun talking to them about trees and giving back to the community is very important.’’

The FFA group plans to do more similar community service projects with the trees they grow to make area schools more beautiful, according to Agricultural Teacher and FFA Advisor Miguel Guerra.

PAGE 5 RHS Cheer/ASTRA Club Righetti Cheer and ASTRA Club Members representing Righetti High School and the Altrusa Club of the Central Coast volunteering at the Children’s Discovery Museum’s Nutrition Expedition Day! Our group was a fun-tastic, energetic addition to their special event!!!

Altrusa Festival of Trees The artistic endeavors of 25 Santa Maria and Righetti high school students created the backdrop for the Altrusa International Foundation of Golden Valley’s Magical Christmas Tree Fundraiser. The annual event raises money by raffling off 46 various decorated Christmas trees.

ASTRA Club Righetti High School ASTRA Club Members putting the final touches on their Dr. Seuss themed tree donation for the Altrusa of the Central Coast’s Festival of Trees. ASTRA Members spent weeks crafting, shopping and having lots of fun preparing their tree for display!

Members also put in time volunteering at the Festival of Trees.

Athletics

Four Righetti student athletes will take their athletic and academic promise to the next level when they accept offers to colleges and universities on November 9 and 14.

Matt Sauer, Zach Anderson and Danita Estorga are scheduled to sign National Letters of Intent inside the cafeteria at 4:30 p.m. this Wednesday, according to Athletic Director Kevin Barbarick. Sauer is headed to University of Arizona to play baseball, Anderson will travel to Bethel College to also play baseball and Estorga will join the Biola University Basketball Team, Barbarick added.

Delanie Wisz will sign her National Letter of Intent to the Loyola Marymount University Softball Team on Monday at 6 p.m. inside the Righetti cafeteria, Barbarick said.

Warrior Head Baseball Coach and Math Teacher Brian Tomooka said it has been a pleasure to have both of these fine young gentlemen in the baseball program.

“Matt has been a 4-year varsity baseball player for our program,’’ Tomooka said. “Obviously, Matt has proven that he can pitch, hit, and play the game at a high level, but he has meant a whole lot more to the Righetti High School Baseball Program.

He is a true competitor, a team leader, and his loyalty and commitment to the Righetti High School Baseball Program ranks up PAGE there amongst the best that I have ever coached.’’

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Tomooka added, “Zach has been a 2-year varsity player for our program. Zach earned the starting catching position last year and did an outstanding job for us both defensively and offensively. From the beginning of last season, to this point, Zach has made one of the biggest improvements that I have ever seen in a player.’’

Girls Varsity Basketball Coach and SAAS Teacher Desiree Domingues said, “Danita has been a pleasure to coach and has a – “bright future ahead of her”. “Danita is such a well-rounded student athlete,’’ Domingues said. “I am so ecstatic that she has chosen to attend Biola University and I think it will be a great fit for her. Danita has an exceptional work ethic, leadership skills, and the ability to play all five positions on the court at any given time. In addition to basketball, Danita has excelled in academics, singing, and leadership at Righetti High School. She will be a huge asset to the University.’’

Softball Coach Mike Roberson also has a good reason to celebrate when Wisz seals the deal with Loyola next week. “I’m very proud of Delanie,’’ Roberson said. “She is a 3-year varsity player for our program. Not only a great offensive player, but great defensively as well. Delanie is a great team leader and works very hard to be the best she can be. Besides all the work on the field, the most important thing is that she is a scholar athlete. I know she will be a great fit for Loyola Marymount and look forward to her future.

Guidance and Counseling Registration of 8th Grade Students for the 2017-2018 School Year

Presentations and Distribution of Registration Packets at Junior High Schools: Tuesday, January 24th – Arellanes Junior High Fesler Junior High McKenzie Junior High Wednesday, January 25th – Lakeview Junior High Thursday, January 26th – Orcutt Junior High Friday, January 27th – Blochman School Olga Reed School All students will be receiving a classroom presentation and their Registration Packet that includes enrollment forms, a Checklist of Required Documents and a Class Registration Form with course descriptions.

Registration Dates:

• McKenzie - Thursday, February 2nd from 3:00 to 6:30 @ McKenzie Cafeteria • Lakeview – Tuesday & Wednesday, February 14th & 15th from 3:00 to 6:30 @ Righetti Cafeteria • Arellanes, Blochman, Fesler & Olga Reed – Thursday, February 16th from 3:00 to 6:30 @ Righetti Cafeteria • Orcutt – Tuesday & Wednesday - February 21st & 22nd from 3:00 to 6:30 @ Righetti Cafeteria Information Sessions will be available in the Righetti College and Career Center on February 14th-16th and

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February 21st-22nd at 3:00, 4:00 and 5:00. These sessions are to assist parents and students in the registration process.

Warrior Welcome:

Thursday, March 9th at 5:30 parents and students are invited to attend Warrior Welcome. This is an excellent opportunity to discover all that Righetti has to offer. Academics, Sports, Visual Performing Arts and a whole lot more will be there to welcome our Righetti Class of 2021!

On-Track Credit Recovery

If you have a student that has attempted and failed a high school level course that is required for graduation they need to be signed up for On-Track Credit Recovery (OTCR). The OTCR Program allows students to make up courses through the web-based PLATO Learning Environment Program.

Students are required to attend the PLATO Lab at least 3 times a week. The PLATO Lab is located in Room 621 and is open Mondays and Fridays 7:30 – 3:30, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 7:30 – 5:00 and every day at lunch. Students needing OTCR need to meet with their Guidance Technician, Dayna DeBernardi-Watson (Students with last names A-L) or Cathy Simpson (Students with last names M-Z) to be referred to the OTCR Program. Any questions, please contact Mrs. DeBernardi-Watson at (805) 937-2057 ext. 2726 or dwatson@righetti.us and Ms. Simpson at (805) 937-2051 ext. 2728 or csimpson@righetti.us.

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Karen Townsend

ktownsend@smjuhsd.org

Righetti High School

Righetti Review

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PTSA & AP Making it Happen!

Mission: Admission Challenge FFA Astra and Altrusa Athletics Guidance and Counseling

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Inside This Issue