La Salle ParentNewsletter
For Parents and Friends of La Salle College Preparatory • Pasadena • California December/January 2019
Principal Ideas Hello. I hope that all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and were able to celebrate with your family and friends.
Courtney R. Kassakhian Principal
As the holiday season revs up and the Christmas songs take over the radio, our lives tend to get very busy. This is not only because of all the festivities that happen during December, but also because the many events that take place at La Salle throughout the holiday season.
December Arts Events
While most of our classes spend the weeks leading up to finals preparing for exams, many of the students in our Arts and Media classes are preparing to demonstrate all their learning publicly at concerts and art shows this month. On December 8, we will have our AP Studio Art show in the Blakeslee Learning Commons from 4:00pm – 6:00pm. This will be followed by our Winter Band, Strings, and Choir Concert at 7:00pm in the Dining Hall. And then on Saturday, December 15 we will have our Jazz Band Concert. These are wonderful events and I encourage you to attend and see firsthand our talented students.
Adopt-a-Family December is also the time we undertake one of our
Did You Know? Saint John Baptist de La Salle
In the early 1680s, he instituted the process of dividing students into grades; established the first teacher‘s school; started high schools and trade schools and taught students in French instead of Latin.
major schoolwide service projects – Adopt-a-Family. This year we are partnering with five different organizations to provide gifts for families who are unable to afford them. Our entire school community, including alumni, participate in this gift drive, which culminates in our Adopt-a-Family Christmas party held here at La Salle on December 15. This event is a very special experience for our guests, who not only receive gifts but are also treated to a lunch, performances by our performing arts students, as well as games and arts and crafts provided by Student Life. It is wonderful living out our school’s commitment to service and I know all of our students involved have just as much fun as our guests do that day. Principal continued on page 2
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Principal Ideas
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Semester Finals
And, after all the fun of course, the end of December brings first semester finals. Finals take place Monday, December 17 - Thursday, December 20. All classes meet during exam week and all final exams are mandatory and must be taken at the assigned time. A teacher cannot arrange for a student to take an exam at any time other than the published time. Finals will end at 11:20am Monday-Wednesday and at 9:30am. on Thursday. In order to accommodate extended time finals, the Blakeslee Learning Commons will not be open during finals week. The Dining Hall will only be open before school and at the break. No lunch will be served during final exams. There will be review days for all classes on December 12 and 13. On these days there will be no new assignments given or collected. This will enable teachers to have all assignments entered in the gradebook by the end of the day Friday, December 14, so that students will know what their grade is going into finals week. If your child has a question about any grade in the gradebook up to that point, they need to ask the teacher during finals week and before the Christmas break begins. PowerSchool will stay open throughout the Christmas break, so students will be able to see their grades on the final exams and their final course grades. Please remember, teachers are on break from December 21-January 7. So if you or your child have questions about final grades or final exams during the break time, you can send an e-mail or leave a voicemail, but know that it will likely not be returned until teachers resume work on January 7. Please take the Christmas vacation to truly take a break from school. All questions about final exams and grades will be answered when school resumes. If a student has any questions about a grade, they can initiate a petition no later than five days after report cards are postmarked. (See page 16 in the Student-Parent Handbook.) After the last final exam is over on December 20, many of our students will be heading home to get ready for our annual SnoBall. This year the SnoBall is moving back to the Chandelier Room at Santa Anita Park. This semi-formal event is open to all La Salle students and is a wonderful way to celebrate the end of the first semester.
Celebrate Success
And there was a lot to celebrate. We had a successful fall athletic program, with 23 of our Lancer athletes receiving all league recognition this season: Ø Varsity Cross Country: Michelle Algiers, Maggie O’Hagan, Lia Shaw and Alyssa Trac named First Team All-League Ø Varsity Football: CJ Rettig, Marco Venegas, and Michael Zenner named 1st Team AllLeague; Gio Butteri, Warren Fowler and Cesar Gudino named 2nd Team All-League Ø Varsity Girls Golf: Makenna Hicks, Josephine Lo and Vicky Wang named 1st Team AllLeague; Sophie Woodman, Kayla Mena, and Ahtziri Rios-Aguirre named 2nd Team AllLeague Ø Varsity Girls Tennis: Cameron Agapito, Tracey Gibbs and Long Lin named 1st Team AllLeague Ø Varsity Girls Volleyball: Chloe Howell and Vanessa Ramirez named 1st Team AllLeague; Elle Harrity and Carly Kejmar named 2nd Team All-League.
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Congratulations to all of our athletes and coaches on the fall season. As we move into January, I hope you will join us in cheering on Lancers in our winter sports: boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, and girls water polo.
New Semester Plans
When we return from Christmas Break the new semester begins, and, believe it or not, it will already be time to begin planning for the 2019-2020 school year. A big part of that for our underclassmen is the course selection process. In order to help with this, we will be having mid-year receptions in January and February. On Wednesday, January 9 we will have a reception for parents of freshmen and juniors and on Wednesday, February 6 we will have a reception for parents of sophomores and seniors. (Both will begin at 6:30pm). For parents of freshmen, sophomores, and juniors, the evenings will focus on demystifying the course selection process and helping parents guide their students in choosing what courses to request for the upcoming year, especially considering the different realities of what colleges will be looking to see at each grade level. Academic advisors and administrators will be there to present and answer questions. Senior parents will meet to review all things graduation. We hope to see all of our parents at these special events. Please look for links to RSVP to these events in upcoming Friday e-mail blasts.
Lasallian Catholic Assessment Process
In January all of our parents will also be receiving an on-line survey as part of the Lasallian Catholic Assessment Process (LCAP) our school is undertaking this year. The LCAP is an internal and external review process conducted by a school, together with a visiting team of Lasallian educators, that focuses on supporting and strengthening the school’s Lasallian Catholic identity by assessing the overall effectiveness of its programs, practices, and culture in light of core principles of Lasallian schools. A significant part of the assessment process is surveys of students, staff, faculty, and parents. The survey will be emailed out to parents on January 9 and you will have through January 16 to respond. We appreciate you taking the time to thoughtfully respond to the survey when you receive it and helping us continue to strengthen the already strong program we have here at La Salle College Preparatory. Lastly, as we head into Christmas time and then new year celebrations, it is easy to get caught up preparing for the events: parties, travel plans, gift buying, and so on. This can happen at the expense of our preparing ourselves for the reason we celebrate at all: the birth of Jesus Christ. With a child at home myself, I know the struggle is real. So, this year it is my goal to spend at least as much time in prayer each day as I do moving around that darn elf on the shelf. I hope that through really making it a point of preparing not just for festivities, but for the birth of Jesus, I will enjoy this wonderful Christmas season even that much more. I hope all of you have a very Merry Christmas and that 2019 brings you and your families much joy.
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Parent Association Report Hi La Salle Families, I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope this holiday season brings you and your loved ones much love and joy with a happy and healthy new year.
Cherry Agapito P’18,’20 Parent Association President
Some upcoming events we need your support with are the Holiday Treat Bar for Faculty and Staff on December 12th and Adopt-a-Family on December 15. Your support with these two events is greatly appreciated. As always, please go to https://www.trackitforward.com/site/la-salle-collegepreparatory to sign-up. We hope to see you at our next Parent Association Meeting on January 15, 2019 at 6:30pm in the Blakeslee Learning Commons, followed by the Academic, Arts and Athletic Booster Meetings at 7:30pm. As a reminder, each person will receive one hour of service for each meeting attended.
We thank you again for your support.
Parent Association Event Calendar Parent Association Meetings January 15, 2019 February 12, 2019 March 12, 2019 April 9, 2019
February 10 - Gifts from the Heart
Parent Association Events
April 17- Grandparents Day
December 7 - Crystal Ball Christmas Gift Gathering Party 12 - Christmas Treat Dessert Bar for Faculty & Staff 15 - Adopt-a-Family Christmas Party
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March 9 - Registration Day
May 10 - Crystal Ball
December/January 2019
Left to Right: Colby Stenziel, Judge Thompson, Evelyn Ogier, Nikki Strubinski, Aaron Van Berkren, Madison Cahill, Jackie Henley, Chloe Chueng, Leyna Hong, Milo Sirol, Carolina Gutierriez and Mia Dooley.
High Marks at Mock Trial CRF Competition We congratulate La Salle’s Mock Trial team who competed very well in the Constitutional Rights Foundation Mock Trial Competition at Los Angeles County Court House in late October. "The judges spoke directly to our students after the competition and commended them for demonstrating a high degree of skill (and eloquence) in argumentation, as well as their overall preparation for trial," said Rebekah Schaller '97, Mock Trial moderator.
Jackie Henley '19 Mock Trial MVP
The students demonstrated incredible talent, passion and poise throughout the event and scored very well in all catogories. Senior Jackie Henley was especiably notable, as she received an uncommon PERFECT score for her pretrail 995 P.C. motion and a Most Valuable Participant certificate.
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La Salle Matters
Dr. Richard Gray President
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If you’ve had the occasion recently to visit our web site, you will have noticed that one of the Banner ads, which scroll across the top of the screen, features the recent Vatican announcement of the Beatification of Brother James Miller, FSC. For any Catholic community, this is a big deal. Beatification is the Catholic Church’s way of publically acknowledging the saintly, heroic virtue of someone who, over the course of a lifetime – short or long – has demonstrated a deeply held faith, a consistent desire to bring people to the awareness of God’s love for them and a recognition that mere human effort isn’t sufficient without the sanctifying grace promised by Jesus at the time He ascended into Heaven. Beatification is part of a years-long investigation into the heroic virtues of the individual being proposed for sainthood. It is the next to last step before the Pope (and only the Pope) can declare someone a saint. Brother James Miller, for example, was gunned down in 1982 by a Guatemalan hit squad as he was repairing a wall at the The Centro Indígena La Salle, a school which served the educational needs of native Guatemalans who had no hope of acquiring the skills necessary to escape their life of grinding poverty. It would take nearly 40 years for the Church to beatify Brother James. And yet, his heroic virtue was evident to all those who knew him. Whether serving as a young Spanish teacher in Minnesota, or serving for nearly ten years in Nicaragua and Guatemala, Brother James was renowned for his simple life style, eagerness to be of help to others and passionate commitment to the needs of the poor. His Superiors forcibly relocated him to the United States after the political situation in Nicaragua became toxic. Undeterred, Brother James returned to Central America – to Guatemala – a year later – one short year before his murder. A year before he returned to Guatemala, Brother James was asked if he feared for his life. His answer, elegant in its simplicity, was: “You don’t think about that, that’s not why you’re there. There’s too much to be done, you can’t waste your energies worrying about what might happen.” And yet, he was realistic about the world to which he would return: “One of two frightening things could happen to me in Guatemala. I could be kidnapped, tortured and killed, or I could simply be gunned down.” Little did Brother James know that the latter fate was in store for him. You can click on our Banner ad to learn more about Brother James’ remarkable life. What I want to comment on, here, is the value of his dedication and sacrifice in one of the most dangerous
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parts of the world at that time. After all, it was only two years earlier that Catholic missionary women were raped and murdered by members of the El Salvador National Guard. Brother James’ heroic virtue consisted of the quotidian of serving the students entrusted to his care. He knew that providing an education to indigenous people was inherently threatening to the Guatemalan power structure – but he did it anyway. He knew that his missionary activity would put him on a list in some government office as a troublemaker – but he did it anyway. He knew that his daily activity posed no threat to anyone – and did it anyway. I love C.S. Lewis’ famous comment: “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” I aspire for the students at La Salle to leave us with an appreciation for that understanding of integrity. If we are ever to heal this broken world, it will happen when the next generation of social, civic, business and religious leaders embrace C.S. Lewis’ famous dictum. People of heroic virtue – like Brother James Miller – place before us an enduring example of what it is like to do the right thing, even when it causes the unknown to rear its ugly head. Those of us who experienced 12 to 16 years of Catholic education well remember the ongoing advice to “imitate the Saints.” For many of us, that seemed to be too heavy a burden. In fact, it is easy to see in Brother James’ martyrdom a price too great to pay for the sake of living our Christian values out in the open. And yet, I am reminded of Pope Francis’ challenge to the Christian Community: To be saints is not a privilege for the few, but a vocation for everyone. The lesson to be learned from Brother James’ sacrifice nearly forty years ago is not, necessarily, to follow his path of holiness, but to discover our own path to holiness. In the words of Passionist Saint Gabriel Possenti: Our perfection does not consist of doing extraordinary things, but to do the ordinary well. As one who has been privileged to serve the Lasallian educational community here in Pasadena for the last 20 years, I take great comfort in the courage of Brother James Miller – and am grateful that the Catholic Church is granting this honor of beatification to the first US Christian Brother. More importantly, I pray that Brother James’ heroic virtue can speak to the young people entrusted to our care so that they, too, are able to stand up for what they believe in – long after they leave us.
Blessed Brother James Miller, FSC
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Blakeslee Learning Commons Opens
One of four completly electronically supported group study rooms.
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La Salle College Preparatory recently opened the Blakeslee Learning Commons. The 5,250 square foot former library has been repurposed as a learning center. In addition to open study and social space, it features four areas where students can collaborate on projects. The new study and research rooms feature smart boards, high-definition television and complete technology support systems. The six-month project was a result of a successful Institutional Advancement campaign that raised nearly a half million dollars for the renovation. Collette Salvatierra, La Salle’s Curriculum Recourse Specialist/Librarian comments that the Blakeslee Learning Commons has shifted its space to fit the needs of 21st century learning. “In other words, the space promotes student’s collaboration and adaptation to the way they learn rather than the other way around. It welcomes student innovation and creates excitement for learning. What excites me about the space is having students integrate it into their day-to-day experience and shape it to fit their academic gaols." Dr. Richard Gray, La Salle’s President, believes the project was consistent with the School's focus that facilities improvements should support program needs. The Blakeslee Library has been modernized to address 21st century educational opportunities. He says, “The renovated facility - now called the Blakeslee Learning Commons - accomplishes this challenge by providing student collaboration rooms, private study rooms and technological enhancements which support student-to-student and student-to-teacher interactions." The ribbon cutting ceremony was held on November 4 with a presentation by La Salle’s principal, Courtney Kassakhian, and a dedication and blessing by Deacon Steven Marsh, from St. Dorothy parish and parent of two La Salle graduates. Josefina Alvrez '20, the Library Club President had the honor of cutting the ribbon. The architect for the Collette Salvatierra re-design was La Salle alumus, Barry Schweiger, class of 1960.
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Principal Kassakhian blesses the Commons with Deacon Marsh
Collette Salvatierra, Josefina Alvarez, Courtney Kassakhian
LC President Alvarez blesses students attending the Commons dedication
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Year End Support of La Salle Through the Planned Giving program at La Salle College Preparatory, donors and supporters can contribute to the School’s endowment through one of many Planned Giving Instruments. Though this program is supported throughout the year, it can be especially strategic and helpful to donors and supporters as the end of the year approaches. Examples of Planned Gifts that are typically utilized at or near the end of the year include:
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The donation of appreciated securities (held for over a year) (1) avoids capital gains tax, and (2) creates a tax deduction for the full value of the securities donated. The stock market has experienced ups and downs in 2018, but it is still at a high point relative to historic levels. As such, this strategy is a very strategic and effective manner of year-end charitable giving. This same strategy can be used for appreciated real estate (held over a year).
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The transfer of up to $100,000 of one’s IRA (for taxpayers having attained age 70½) to La Salle can serve to reduce the taxation of other attributes being reported on one’s tax return in addition to avoiding the tax due on all or part of one’s required annual IRA distribution.
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Funding a Charitable Gift Annuity allows the donor to receive not only a tax deduction but also a stream of income at a very competitive rate of return, part of which is received free of income tax. Though bank interest rates have increased in 2018, the Annuity program is still a great alternative to safely increase one’s rate of return on invested cash.
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Naming La Salle as a full or partial beneficiary of a life insurance policy is also a common estate planning strategy. This can be established without incurring any out of pocket cost to the donor/owner of the policy.
Certain year end giving strategies require additional time to execute, so timely planning for these donations is highly recommended. Consultation with one’s tax advisor is suggested as part of the consideration of a Planned Gift, particularly with the impact of the federal tax legislation that is in effect for 2018. These are some of the common examples of a Planned Gift to be considered as the end of the year approaches. Please review the Planned Giving articles in future publications of both the ParentNewsletter and Lancer Magazine for ongoing updates in the Planned Giving Program. In Summary La Salle College Preparatory can provide more information, both generically and specifically, regarding the benefits available through Planned Giving. For more information, please contact Jon Keates, the Vice-President for Institutional Advancement at 626.696.4344.
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Robolancers are VEX Tournament Champions In mid-November, the Robolancers competed against 33 teams at a regional VEX Robotics tournament held at Juan Cabrillo High School in Long Beach. After almost 10 hours of competition the junior team of Nathaniel Lucas, Josh Roesner, Jack Huang, Robert Kimble, Grabriel Bohanec, Josie Alvarez and Emmett Sloan (not Pictured) came out on top and brought home the tournament championship. This victory qualified the team for the California State Finals. The VEX Robotics Tournament is a robotics competition for elementary through university students. Top, juniors Robert Kimble,
Nathaniel Lucas’ efforts at programming the winning robot, 8888X, also earned La Salle the “Think Award” which is won for the best computer program of the tournament. La Salle’s Robolancers moderator, Roy Chang, said “the students worked tirelessly on their robots and software to produce effective systems, and it certainly paid off for all of them.”
Josie Alvarez, Mr. Roy Chang, Nathaniel Lucas, Joshua Roesner and Gabriel Bohanec. Above, Robot 8888X.
Controlling robot 8888Y and 8888G at the tournament were team members Henry Atkinson, Carlos Nuevo, Samuel Solomon, Santiago Romero, Jerry Liu and Ethan Sandoval. These two teams competed well reaching the round of 16.
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Mothers of Alumni Kick-off Holiday Season of Joy
Daryll Oliver '11 with his Mother Dana Jones-Brooks P'11,'12
On Friday, November 16, the Mothers of Alumni Council (MAC) of La Salle College Preparatory hosted their annual Holiday Luncheon & Boutique at the Altadena Town & Country Club. This year’s event was chaired by Lucy Evans P’05,07, with MAC president Lisa Urbina P’09,’10,’16. The event featured a shopping boutique, dozens of raffle gifts, and a delicious lunch all in support of La Salle’s San Miguel Scholarship Fund. The San Miguel Scholarship honors the first American Lasallian Saint, Brother Miguel, by offering up to nine full-tuition scholarships to incoming students of academic promise whose family income level puts them at or below the federal poverty level. This year’s guest speaker, Darryl Oliver, class of 2011 and a San Miguel scholar, explained how his scholarship was life-changing and how it opened the doors of educational, artistic and athletic opportunity for him. Darryl is a graduate of Oregon State University and now teaches at La Salle. To see more photos or learn more about the San Miguel Scholarship Fund or the Mothers of Alumni Council, visit our website at www.lasallehs.org.
The raffle begins
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La Salle Christmas Choir
This page, MAC boutique and luncheon guests
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La Salle Academic Decathlon Team Scores Big at Yale The La Salle Academic Decathlon team returned from New Haven, Connecticut surviving subfreezing cold on Thanksgiving Day to rest after competing in World Scholars Cup Tournament of Champions (WTC) at Yale University. Six students from La Salle College Preparatory garnered 39 medals in the Tournament of Champions. Two Lancer trios competed against over 400 other teams from 58 other countries and six continents. The WSC competition is comprised of four separate events: a Scholars Challenge which is an arduous 120-question multiple choice test on six different subjects, a collaborative essay involving all members of the team, three team debates, and a Scholars Bowl which is a combination of game show and audio-visual madness. These six Lancers had competed in the Global Round in Sydney, Australia, and advanced to the annual Tournament of Champions at Yale after qualifying in one of four Global Rounds which totaled over 6,000 students. This is the third consecutive year that a team from La Salle has qualified for this ultimate competition. The team comprising seniors Gwyneth Schoenbaum, Joshua Ng, and Samantha Grijalva finished in 69th place overall. Individually, they won 11 gold medals and seven silver
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medals. Together they finished in 26thplace for the team challenge, 70thplace for the collaborative essay, and 69thoverall for the team debate. The team with seniors Kate Mena, Katie Nuzzi, and Kees Hood combined to win eleven gold medals and five silver medals. As a team, they finished in 19th place for the Team Challenge, which is the highest finish that either team received in any event. This event completes the annual WTC competition for these six students, but they have not completed all of their academic competitions yet. In January and February these same Lancers (along with about 20 others) led by coach John Erb will vie in the Academic Decathlon competition at Alemany High School where they will compete against more than 40 teams from other private schools in the greater Los Angeles area.
How to Locate Our Flickr Album
Simply... Open home page on the La Salle website Scroll down to the blue VIEW MORE NEWS & EVENTS bar in center of page Double click that bar, go to bottom of News & Events page
La Salle "World Scholars", from left, Joshua Ng, Kees Hood, Samantha Grijalva, Kate Mena, Gwyneth Schoenbaum and Katie Nuzzi.
See Click here to view Flickr Photo Album. You will go directly to the individual subject files, such as Homecoming, Halloween, Blakeslee Learning Commons and much, much more. Enjoy.
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College Center News College Counselors Tam Ly, Owen Hou '90, P'21, Marcia Yu P'21
College Applications
At this point, all University of California applications are completed and submitted, as are the Cal State applications. Parents, please remind your seniors to submit their official SAT / ACT scores to the schools where they are applying. In order to do so, they need to log into their College Board or ACT account and select the option to send scores. Colleges only accept official scores sent directly from the test agency. Students applying to multiple UC campuses may send the SAT or ACT scores to only one of them and they will share. The same is true for the Cal States, as they share scores as well. For all the other schools, students need to send the scores to each of them. If students are completing the Common Application, they must match their Common Application and Naviance accounts which will allow us to submit their transcript and letters of recommendation electronically. This matching is made on Naviance, under ‘Colleges’, ‘Colleges I am applying to’ and then ‘Match Accounts.’ Please remind your student to report their application results (acceptances, denials, deferrals, waitlists) to their college counselor and on Naviance.
Letters of Recommendation
From the counselor: All seniors should have turned in their College List to their College Counselor by November 15. If your student applies to a college not in their list and that has a January 2019 deadline, they must inform their college counselor by December 8 to allow sufficient time for the counselors to submit the required forms and letters of recommendation before the holiday break. From the teachers: All seniors should have asked teachers to write their letters of recommendation in November. All forms & envelopes (if needed) must be given to the teachers by Friday, December 8. The teachers must complete forms/letters of recommendation to colleges before the holiday break to meet most deadlines.
College Counselors and teachers will not be able to write letters of recommendation or fill out school/counselor reports over the Christmas break. Please plan ahead.
FAFSA & Cal Grants
Please note that La Salle has already submitted our seniors GPAs to the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC). This means parents who have submitted their FAFSA will be notified if their student is eligible for the Cal Grant. Our College Counselors strongly encourage parents to submit their FAFSA early to ensure that your student is considered for the maximum amount of gift aid.
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Kick-off of College Planning for Juniors
College Counselors will begin the formal college counseling process for juniors in January. On December 14, the college planning survey for juniors will be released on Naviance. The completion of the online survey will start the one-on-one college counseling process for juniors. SAVE THE DATE - College Night for Parents of Juniors We will meet parents of juniors on Wednesday, January 9, at 6:30pm in the Dining Hall. Parents will receive a packet of information that includes materials explaining the college application process. We strongly recommend that parents attend this meeting, which will cover the following topics: ● ● ● ● ●
College Planning Process UC & Cal State admissions Utilizing Naviance Scheduling classes for the senior year Q&A
SAVE the DATE – College Forum for Freshman, Sophomore & Junior Families
La Salle’s College Forum will be held on Wednesday, April 3, at 6:00pm. As in the past, college admission representatives from many colleges will present important information to our families (see tentative sessions below). The College Forum is a great opportunity for students to learn about the college admission process and learn how to research and identify the right college for them. So please highlight the College Forum on your calendar. The following were the presentation topics from the 2018 College Forum. While a majority of presentations will stay the same, some presentations will be different. Please advise if there are any specific topics you would like to see presented: College continued on page 18
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College continued from page 19
UC San Diego
● Getting in: Tips for Admission to Highly Selective Colleges ● Understanding UC Admission ● Dollars and Sense ● Studying the Physical Sciences and Engineering ● College Admissions from the Colleges’ Point of View ● Making the Moment Count: College Visits! ● Getting a Liberal Arts Education on a State School Budget ● Standardized Testing Overview ● College Quickstart: Naviance Overview ● From Stress to Success: Finding the Perfect College and How to Pay for It! ● Preparing for Health-Related Careers ● The NCAA, the Student Athlete, and Admission ● The Arts: Application Process, Auditions & Portfolios ● Understanding the Business Major ● Successful Transition to College for Students with Learning Differences More detailed information will be published in the February ParentNewsletter. Classes of 2020 and 2021 - College Tours We are offering the following college tours in the spring: San Diego College Tour February 18, 2019 University of San Diego, UC San Diego, San Diego State University Bay Area College Tour March 18-19, 2019 Colleges to be announced in January, 2019 For more information, please contact Mrs. Yu. Standardized Testing All freshman, sophomore and junior students took standardized tests in October. In December, freshman and sophomore students will receive and review their PreACT results. In January, junior students will receive and review their PSAT results. Please do not hesitate to contact your student’s college counselor if you have any questions about test results.
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February 9 ACT for all Juniors All juniors have signed up for the February 9 ACT at La Salle. They MUST also do the following in order to be admitted to the test site: 1. All students have created their own account on www.actstudent.org. Students must have their photo uploaded on their account by February 1 2. Once their photo is uploaded, they need to print out their Admission Ticket. 3. Bring the Admission Ticket and a current picture ID to the February 9 ACT.
Matching Gifts
Photo requirements and directions to upload photos can be found at http://www.actstudent.org/regist/add-photo.html. Your student may change the test location and/or change to a later test date if they have a school event on the same date. Please note La Salle has already paid for this test and there is no expense on your part. Please call the ACT directly at 800.553.6244 if you have any technical issues. ACT Prep Course For those who are looking for a course to help your student prepare for the February 9 ACT, Revolution Prep will be offering a prep course on campus this spring. This course will be delivered via Revolution Prep’s live, online platform and taught by one of their full-time professional tutors. Students will meet in the Dining Hall and participate via their iPads or MacBooks. Course Length: 12 hours over 10 sessions First Class: Wednesday, January 9 Last Class: Thursday, February 7 Practice Tests: three tests total, two on-campus, and one at home. Students are to take their first practice test on their own prior to the first class. The other two practice tests will be taken at La Salle on Saturdays. Cost: $300 Please contact your student’s College Counselor for additional information about this course. If you have a financial need and would like to access this course, please speak with Ms. Ly. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
If you are an employee of a matching gift company, we would love to work with you. This is an easy way to raise funds for La Salle. If you are not sure if your company participates, you can ask your employer or contact Tara Morales at: tmorales@lasallehs.org or call 626.696.4381.
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Patrick Bonacci 2018 SFNO Distinguished Lasallian Educator
The 45th annual Huether Lasallian Conference concluded Saturday, November 17 with a Mass and banquet honoring the 2018 Distinguished Lasallian Educators (DLE) and the Brother John Johnston, FSC Award honoree. The DLEs represent the District of Eastern North America, the Midwest District and the District of San Francisco New Orleans. They were selected by their ministries and recognized for their exceptional work in touching the hearts and minds of their students, often leaving a lasting impression that makes a difference in the world. (Please see the November issue of the ParentNewsletter for more details). Pictured above are Patrick Bonacci, AFSC with honored friends of La Salle Left to right; Mr. Bob Carrejo, Director, Office of Communication - current Board of Trustee member for LSCP, Dr. Michael Daniels, Director, Office of Education – numerous visits and interactions with the administration and faculty of LSCP, Br. James Joost, FSC, Auxiliary Visitor and past faculty and Board of Trustee member for LSCP, facilitated the spiritual retreat for the faculty and staff in August 2018, Mr. Patrick Bonacci, AFSC, Vice-President for Mission at LSCP and recipient of the District of SFNO’s Distinguished Lasallian Educator Award for 2018, Mr. Charlie Legendre, AFSC, Director, Office of Evangelization and Catechesis – numerous visits and interactions with the administration, students, faculty and staff at LSCP, Ms. Janell Kloosterman, Director Leadership Formation – numerous interactions with the administration at LSCP and Dr. Greg Kopra, Director, Formation for Mission – facilitates yearly new employee Lasallian Orientation Program in August and January, and was our retreat facilitator for the faculty and staff of LSCP in August 2017.
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December/January 2019
Senior Tribute Pages Attention Senior Parents -By now you should have received in the mail the Centurion Senior Tribute ad flyers for the 2019 yearbook. This year's Centurion promises to be bigger and better than last year's and will be a wonderful treasure trove of countless memories of La Salle for your child. Full page, half and quarter page ad layouts are illustrated on the flyer with complete instructions for submittal. Please return the order form with your photos, text and payment to La Salle before December 17. The Centurion staff thanks you in advance for your support. If you have questions, please contact John Blackstock at jblackstock@lasallehs.org.
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December/January 2019
Lancer Armory The Lancer Armory is ready take on the colder weather with new long sleeved spirit wear, sweatpants and red hoodies to keep your Lancer cozy. To make it easier for our Lancer Parents to get some holiday shopping done, we will have a second parent sale on Saturday, December 8 from 10:00am-2:00pm. We also have new Christmas ornaments that will look great on your tree and a limited supply of delicious ground coffee! Dark Roast,Specialty House Blend and Hazelnut, each in 1lb. bags selling for $12. All proceeds from this delicious brew benefit the Arts Booster. Stop by and pick some up before it is gone!
Lancer Heros Alumni Director, Kristen Schultz '98 received an email and photo on November 16 from Brian Ursettie '99, who is a firefighter with the City of Arcadia, The photo was of himself and fellow alum Brent Pattison '01 who is a firefighter with the City of San Gabriel. Both men have been fighting the Woolsey Fire that week. Kristen told Brian that, "his picture could not have come at a better time since the Dollar Dress Day today was going toward buying needed supplies for firefighters and first responders still battling the fires." That Dollar Dress Day saw a 40% increase in contributions. Nearly $700 was donated to our local heros.
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FLASH!
The Lancer Armory has Letterman jackets at a discounted price! Jackets usually sell for over $200, we have a limited supply at the Holiday price of $150. What a great gift for your sporty Lancer athlete!
December/January 2019 Inauguration of the Lasallian Jubilee Year
The Year 2019 marks the tricentenary of the death of Saint John Baptist De La Salle. The Superior General and his Council asked for and received permission from the Pope to establish a jubilee year dedicated to Saint John Baptist de La Salle, Founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and patron of teachers. The date that this Lasallian Jubilee Year is set to begin is November 17, 2018, the same day that, in 1951, the year of the 300th anniversary of the Founder’s birth, the chapel of the Generalate was dedicated to him. The opening of the Jubilee Year consisted of a celebration of the Holy Mass that was followed with the reading of the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee Year and will close with the Plenary Indulgence. La Salle plans ongoing information presentations during mentor periods, a liturgy, an assembly. Commemorative wrist bands will be presentd to the student body during this Jubilee Year.
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December/January 2019
December / January Highlights December 7 Crystal Ball Christmas Holiday Gift Gathering Party 6:30 - 9:30pm Altadena December 7-8 Christmas Tree Distribution Friday 4:00-7:00pm Saturday 9:00am -12:00pm Grass Field December 8 Saturday The Immaculate Conception of The Blessed Virgin Mary Alumni Adopt-A-Family Gift Wrapping Party and Visit with Santa 10:00am - 12:00pm Grinstead Theatre AP Art Show Blakesleee LC 4:00 - 6:00pm Band, Choir, Strings Concert 7:00 - 8:00pm Dining Hall December 11 Liturgy Schedule Dress Uniform December 15 Saturday Adopt-A-Family Christmas Party Campus, Dining Hall 11:00am - 1:00pm Jazz Band Concert Grinstead Theatre 7:00 - 9:00pm December 17-20 Semester Final Exams
December 20 Thursday Snowball Dance 8:00 - 11:00pm Santa Anita Race Track December 21 - January 7, 2019 Christmas Holiday January 8, 2019 Tuesday Classes Resume Second Semester Begins CSF, NHS Applications Open (Applications Close January 15) January 8-9 Josten's on campus for Senior Graduation Orders and Letterman Jackets for qualified students January 9 Freshman/Junior Reception Parents and Students 6:30- 8:00pm Dining Hall, Grinstead Theatre January 11 Rally Schedule Winter Rally January 15 Parent Association Meeting 6:30pm Blakeslee LC Parent Boosters Meetings 7:30pm Campus January 21 Monday Martin Luther King, Jr. School Holiday January 22 Assembly Schedule Academic Awards 9:25 -10:50am Dining Hall
For game dates, times and locations go to lasallehs.org Athletics.
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LA SALLE COLLEGE PREPARATORY 3880 E. SIERRA MADRE BLVD. PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91107-1996 • TELEPHONE 626.351.8951 FACSIMILE 626.351.0275 WWW.LASALLEHS.ORG • LA SALLE PARENTNEWSLETTER IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY EXCEPT JANUARY AND JULY BY LA SALLE COLLEGE PREPARATORY © 2019
• EDITOR, JOHN BLACKSTOCK ’67 DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS TELEPHONE: 626.696.4316 • EMAIL: JBLACKSTOCK@LASALLEHS.ORG
Transforming Lives Since 1680