La Salle Parent Newsletter For Parents and Friends of La Salle College Preparatory • Pasadena • California September 2019
Principal Ideas Hello parents and friends. Although we have only just begun September, our 2019-2020 school year is well underway! Before even getting to Labor Day we have already had a dance, a rally, a mass, and Back to School Night! I hope that the school year has gotten off to a positive start for your student and that, as this first full month of school commences, they will settle into their classes, clubs, teams, and everything else that comes with the new school year. Courtney R. Kassakhian Principal
Reflection Prayer St. John Baptist de La Salle
Lord, I pray that Your spirit may come alive in me since You have chosen me to do Your work. May I be completely transformed by Your spirit dwelling within. Med. 152
At this time last year I let you know that we had formed a security task force and described some of the steps we had taken to help improve school safety here at La Salle. Those steps included active shooter training for faculty and staff and a new front door which would require visitors to be buzzed in. This summer we were able to make three more significant upgrades to our overall security plan which I am happy to share with you here. Firstly, some of you may have noticed on Back to School Night that all of our interior doors on campus now have Lock Bloks. These simple devices basically act as door stops and eliminate the need for teachers to find keys and go out into the hallway to lock the door. The Lock Bloks enable teachers to keep their doors locked throughout the day, while still allowing easy access into their classroom. However, should there be an emergency, all they need to do is slide the Lock Blok and when they pull the door shut it will be securely locked. Our second upgrade to our total security plan is a camera system. Throughout August, eighteen cameras were installed around campus and cover every door leading in or out of campus buildings. Two monitors linked to these cameras have been installed as well one in the office of our Dean, Mr. Stumpf, and the other
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in the front office. Our third upgrade you will not be able to see, as it is a communication system. We spent a significant amount of time last year talking about what we should do in the event of an emergency; however, the issue remained of how people would know that there was an emergency taking place. After research, we decided to begin use of the Rave Panic Button App. This app allows any and all of our employees to alert administration, or all employees if needed, in the event of an emergency. All of our faculty and staff have downloaded this app onto their phones. With the push of a button, the Rave Panic Button app immediately dials 9-1-1, while simultaneously sending notifications to people on-site of the incident. In the app, we have also geofenced all the facilities that our students may regularly be at - our main campus, Arcadia County Park baseball, softball, and aquatic facilities, the softball field at LDS, the Orange Grove tennis courts, and Porticos Art Space - so that in the case that the app is put to use, first responders will know exactly where the incident is happening. Additionally, we are currently working with a private security company to employ a security officer daily from approximately 1 p.m. - 9 p.m. As you know, students remaining on campus after the regular school day are directed to the Blakeslee Learning Commons after 3 p.m. The BLC is open until 5 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and until 4 p.m. on Fridays. However, there are students who remain on campus following the close of the school building and the departure of most faculty and staff. Therefore the security personnel will be a point person for our students who remain on campus after 5 p.m. Many people have worked together for many months making these upgrades happen. In planning for all of these things and deciding what direction to take, much thought and discussion was centered around how to keep the warm, friendly feel we have here at La Salle while also making campus more secure. I hope that you will agree that these changes are ones that do just that. And although I am extremely happy about these facility upgrades and believe that we have physically made our campus more secure, I also continue to believe that it is just as important to continue to think about who we are as a community and how we treat each other. We do many things here at La Salle to try to support and lift up students and make sure students are having a positive high school experience in general. These things include our mentor program, our highly qualified guidance and counseling staff, and regular grade level meetings of faculty. We also look to the Lasallian Five Core Principles as a guide and a way to talk with our students about our hopes and expectations for them as people both on and off campus. This year to further highlight these core principles, we are beginning our Lasallian Awards program.
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The Lasallian Awards were introduced to students on the first day of school and were further explained in mentor. These awards, which will be given monthly, will acknowledge community members who are living the principles of Concern for the Poor and Social Justice, Faith in the Presence of God, Inclusive Community, Quality Education, and Respect for All Persons. Students will be able to nominate people and we hope that by highlighting positive actions among the community which might otherwise go unnoticed, that positivity will spread. Additionally, we are looking forward to honoring students who excel in ways other than academics. As I told the students on the first day of school, academics are important. Absolutely! And we celebrate those achievements. But at La Salle our mission goes far beyond grades earned in classrooms and thus we should be celebrating non-academic achievements and contributions as well. As you can see, a lot has gone on this summer and the school year will bring many more exciting and new events. As we head into the first full month of school, hopefully you and all your students are settling back into the routine of the school year. I hope that one of the routines you as a parent will settle back into is attending our Parent Association Meetings that occur the second Tuesday of every month in the Blakeslee Learning Commons. Our first meeting is Tuesday, September 10 at 6:30 p.m. At this meeting Mr. Bonacci will discuss our president search and attendees will get a chance to hear from our new Athletic Director, Brian Walsh. Following the meeting our Academic, Arts, and Athletic Booster Clubs meet at 7:30 p.m. We would love to see you at these meetings! Please consider making Parent Association a part of your routine. It is an easy way to earn your parent hours and we truly appreciate your participation. In closing, I would just like to say how wonderful it has been to have all of our students back with us now that the 2019-2020 school year has begun. Students are here throughout the summer for summer school and camps, but it is definitely not the same as having all 650 students here bringing with them with their energy every day. So thank you for making the choice to send your student to La Salle. I hope this year is a wonderful one for each and every one of your students. Sincerely, Courtney Kassakhian Principal  Â
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La Salle Matters
Patrick Bonacci, AFSC, P'94,'97 Acting President
Let me once more welcome all of you to the 2019 – 2020 school year. Given our mid-August start to the school year, it never ceases to amaze me how quickly our students transition from summer mode into full school mode. From my perspective, all of our students are off to a great start and doing very well. As you know, we experienced “some” difficulties in the weeks prior to the beginning of school with the implementation of Unified Classroom. The fact that it took many weeks for Power School to work out the problems on their end, especially given the Unified Classroom is part of their information system, was very frustrating to the Administration and faculty as well as to you. I appreciate your patience and understanding. When you joined us last week for Back-to-School Night, I know that you were appropriately impressed with the facility upgrades completed over the summer. I thank you for the numerous compliments that you shared with me regarding these enhancements. I certainly agree with your enthusiasm. I want to again express my sincerest thanks to those of you who supported last year’s LAC 3 initiative that raised the significant funding to build the Fitness Center, purchase the impressive wellness equipment, and re-vitalize both the girl’s locker room and the Student Life Center. The Administration is currently reviewing a new facility enhancement fund raising project for this new school year. You will receive the exciting plans for this new initiative soon. This new initiative, like last summer’s projects and the recent construction for our STEAM program and the Blakeslee Learning Commons, will be one that our current students will benefit from. I also thank you for all the positive comments you shared with me regarding our new surveillance and security systems. As I previously stated, there is nothing more
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important and sacred than the safety of the students and the adults who are part of this school community. Our Trustees have been meeting over the last weeks to finalize the search process for selecting a permanent President to serve our school community. I am positive that I will have much to share with you regarding this initiative over the next week. At La Salle College Preparatory, as well as at Lasallian institutions in some 80 countries across the world, we begin each prayer with Let us Remember… that we are in the Holy Presence of God. During this summer I was re-reading a collection of daily quotations from the writings of Saint John Baptist de La Salle titled Walking with John Baptist de La Salle in the Footsteps of Jesus written by Br. Nicholas Hutchinson, FSC. In this collection one of the daily prayer quotations from Saint La Salle for August was: “The remembrance of God’s presence will be a great advantage in helping you and in inspiring you to do all your actions well.” Saint La Salle included this in a letter he wrote in 1701 to one of the early Christian Brothers. It seems to me that a good way to begin the new school year is for all of us - students, parents, faculty, coaches and other school personnel - to remember that it is God’s presence in our life that is the basis and inspiration for all of our actions. I am very enthusiastic about this new school year, and I look forward to the school’s ongoing partnership with our parents. Again, welcome to a new and exciting school year!
In June 2019, some of our students and faculty went to St. Mary's College of California for the Young Lasallian Assembly. While celebrating the 300th death anniversary of St. John Baptist de La Salle, our students learned more about the Lasallian tradition and met people across the San Francisco New Orleans District!
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Parent Association Report
Jacky Samartin, P'15,'19,'21 Parent Association President
I can’t believe we began yet another school year! We had a wonderful New Parent Orientation. As I have every year that I have been at La Salle, I am really impressed with the quality of families coming in. What a nice group of parents! We are hitting the ground running for the year. We have our first Parent Association meeting Tuesday, September 10 at 6:30pm in the Blakeslee Learning Commons. This will mostly be an informational meeting. Mr. Bonacci will be our featured speaker. He will be giving an overview of the year ahead and talking about the search for our new President. We will also be introducing our new Athletic Director Brian Walsh. Crystal Ball and all of the Booster Presidents will have extended time to discuss their prospective year and will be there to answer any questions. Please join us for this and then continue to one of the booster breakout meetings. We will have yummy food so you won’t go hungry! Friday, September 20 will be our first home football game. Please plan to come and join in cheering on our team. It is a great way to spend a Friday night. Athletic boosters will have gear for sale and there is tons of great food. Let’s support our Lancers. On Saturday, September 28, will be our Fall Gift gathering for the Crystal Ball. This is a welcome event to all of our Freshman Families, and is a great opportunity to show them our Lancer spirit. Wear your favorite La Salle spirit gear. We will have a “Chili Cook-off” with entries from our own La Salle parents. Our faculty and staff will judge the competition. There will be hamburgers, hotdogs and lots of award winning chili. The college games will be livestreamed and we will have plenty of libations. There is even an opportunity drawing with fun prizes. Don’t miss this evening. It is one of our most fun social events.
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The next can’t miss event is the Lancer Golf Classic and Fall Fundraiser on Monday, October 14, at San Gabriel Country Club. Put a golf team together to play and to support our school. Don’t golf? You can still participate in two additional ways. You can register online to bid on the auction items and/or join us for "Baubles and Bubbles" - an after golf silent auction and social with dinner and awards to follow. Please contact Tara Morales (tmorales@lasallehs.org) for more information. Our next few Parent Association meetings will be focusing on social media and the effects on all of us. Our children’s brains have no down time. In our generation, our parents were worried about the effects of too much television. If it were only that simple now. I do remember my parents warning about watching too much tv. Now our kids wake up and go to sleep with their phones. I have spent a shocking amount of time telling my daughter in particular to just put down the phone and ignore what is going on. I am worried about numbing her to life. We will try to tackle this and other social media issues. We will also have a college admissions focus in January. Things are always moving and shifting in this area and we will help you stay on top of all of the changes. We have a wonderful Parent Association Board. We are still looking to fill in a few slots. If you are interested, please feel free to contact me at jsamartin@charter.net.
Lancer Armory The Lancer Armory is your one stop shop for Lancer Gear! Fully stocked with La Salle t-shirts, mugs, tumblers, sweatpants, polos, and hoodies - you'll be sure to find what you need! Questions? Contact Sonya Froio at sfroio@lasallehs.org or call 626.696.4336
Regular Hours: Dress Days 7:30am - 8:00am Tuesdays & Thursdays Lunch / 2:25pm - 3:25pm
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Welcome Back Lancers! The first week of school proved to be very busy for our campus. Freshmen Orientation for the Class of 2023 showcased what it means to be a Lancer and be part of the family. The next day, our campus welcomed all student back with a liturgy and rally.
Top Left: Freshmen Orientation Groups Top Right/Lower Left: Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Liturgy Lower Right: First Day of School
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Lancers show off their school spirit in the Red vs White Fall Rally.
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Supporting La Salle & Enhancing Your Financial Base For years La Salle College Preparatory has maintained a program by which donors and supporters can contribute to the School’s endowment through one of a number of Planned Giving Instruments. Such planned (or legacy) gifts support and ensure that the future of our School is secure with such financial resources. Traditional charitable giving in support of our School includes donations of cash and property. But planned giving includes a variety of alternate gifting opportunities. In many planned gift cases, donations can be made without as significant of cost as a donor would absorb when making a traditional cash donation. Examples of how to support La Salle College Preparatory using planned gifts include the following. Naming our School as a full or partial beneficiary of one’s life insurance policy is a simple and very effective planned gift. This strategy does not impact one’s investment portfolio. It also provides a high level of privacy and confidentiality for donors for whom this is a consideration. Naming our School in your will and/or trust does not require a current outlay of cash or transfer of assets, but it is a very effective strategy in support of our endowment. Despite recent volatility in the stock market, it is still at or near record levels. The donation of appreciated securities that have been held for over a year allows the donor a deduction for the full market value of the security and eliminates the capital gains tax that would have been due had the security been sold. For donors age 70 ½ or older, the IRS allows you to donate up to $100,000 annually from your required IRA distribution. Certain requirements must be met, but in light of the 2017 federal tax legislation, this can be a tax-effective strategy to meet your IRA distribution requirements and to bolster the endowment at our School. If a husband and wife both meet the age test, both can take advantage of this strategy in the same tax year. Each of these strategies should be addressed with your tax/financial advisor to determine the impact and propriety for your individual situation. Please review the Planned Giving articles in future publications of both the Parent Newsletter and Lancer Magazine for ongoing updates in the Planned Giving Program. La Salle can provide more information, both generically and specifically, regarding the benefits available through Planned Giving. For more information, please contact Jon Keates, Major Gift Officer, at (626) 696-4344 or jkeates@lasallehs.org.
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Fall Tailgate and
Chili Cook-Off
September 28, 2019 | 6:00-10:00pm La Salle Dining Hall A fun event for all new and current parents featuring games, food, drinks, and college football! For more info and to RSVP, Visit - https://www.LaSalleHS.org/CBTailgate2019
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LAC 3 Update and Success
Thanks to 161 donors last year, we raised over $234,000 for the Lancer Athletic Campaign 3 (LAC 3). This initiative encompassed renovations of the fitness center, the women’s locker room, and the student life center. Our state-of-the-art fitness center has been up and running since the first day of classes and is filled with treadmills, rowing machines, elliptical machines, recumbent bikes, and TRX equipment. The updates to the women’s locker room included adding vanities, Lancer Pride details and AV equipment so teams can better prepare for games. Our student life center received a refresh with new flooring, paint, desks, cabinets, furniture, and student friendly seating! Thank you again for your generous contributions to this important project!
Students take advantage of the new fitness center in their Physical Education courses.
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September 2019 Top Left: Students utilize the newly renovated student life center. Bottom Left/Right: The renovations of the Girls Locker room includes more vanity space and a reconfigured shower area.
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College Center News College Counselors Tam Ly, Owen Hou '90, P'21, Marcia Yu P'21
College Admission Counselors are on the road visiting high schools and attending college fairs. Around 100 college visits are taking place at La Salle. You can find the up-to-date schedule for college visits under the ‘What is New’ section on Naviance Student. A calendar is also displayed on the bulletin board just outside the College Center. Class of 2019 matriculated to colleges around the country.
College Planning Survey for Seniors Seniors who have not yet done so, should complete their College Planning Survey located on Naviance under the ‘About Me’ tab. This survey was due on August 30th. We are scheduling individual college application meetings with students in the order that the surveys are submitted. Parents may optionally fill out the Parent College Planning Survey, which helps the college counselors to learn more about your son or daughter and keep that information in mind when writing letters of recommendation. If you do not have your login to Naviance Student, please contact your son or daughter’s college counselor.
College Fairs The Jesuit Excellence Tour (JET) will be visiting La Salle on Tuesday, October 1st, during the Academic Support period, from 1:30 to 2:30pm. This is a good opportunity for students to gather information about Jesuit schools they are interested in. Students are also invited to attend the college fair held at Saint Francis High School on Tuesday, October 1st, from 7:00pm to 8:30pm. It is one of the largest fairs in the San Gabriel Valley with over 80 colleges
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present and attracts close to a thousand students each year. Plan to arrive early and carpool as parking will be scarce.
College Tours Visiting college campuses is a wonderful opportunity for our students to see a variety of campuses before they begin the college admissions process. This school year we will be offering the following tours: Los Angeles Area College Tour October 07, 2019 Cal State Northridge, Cal Lutheran UC Santa Barbara San Diego College Tour February 21, 2020 University of San Diego, UC San Diego, San Diego State University Bay Area College Tour March 16-17 2020 [Colleges TBD] Registration forms are available in the College Center. Schools to be visited are subject to change without advance notice. If you have questions about any college tours, please feel free to contact Mrs. Yu.
Standardized Testing Registration is open for the Fall SAT and ACT. If your student would like to take these standardized test(s) and has not registered yet, please do so as soon as possible. We encourage you to register online for the SAT at www.collegeboard.com and for the ACT at www.act.org. SAT Test Dates (Register By) October 5, 2019 (September 6) November 2, 2019 (October 3) December 7, 2019 (November 8) College Center Continued on page 16
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ACT Test Dates (Register By) September 14, 2019 (August 16) October 26, 2019 (September 27) December 14, 2019 (November 8)
Mock SAT & ACT
Revolution Prep will be offering a practice ACT and SAT exam this fall. This is a good opportunity for juniors to become more familiar with the standardized test and for seniors to have some live practice to further prepare for the actual exam. Mock SAT – Saturday, September 21, 2019 Mock ACT – Saturday, October 12, 2019 The price for each mock test is a $20 donation. All proceeds go towards our Academic Boosters. To register, please submit a check to the College Center, made payable to La Salle High School.
Homework Help Revolution Prep is offering the Prime Membership/UNLIMITED HOMEWORK HELP for the promotional cost of $49. See all the benefits here: https://www.revolutionprep.com/programs/revolutionprime/ Your student will have access to: -Tutors in all major subjects – choose your subjects and see a schedule of the many times we have tutors live, online to answer your questions -A huge library of ACT and SAT videos -Discounts on tutoring and test prep classes -Free practice ACT and SAT exams to download When you register through Jean and ask for the La Salle discount, your first 30 days will be half price – just $49. It will automatically renew for $99 after 30 days but you are free to cancel before that or at any time. Call Jean Stroud, Academic Advisor, at 818-217-0951 or jean.stroud@revolutionprep. com for more information or to register. This is a special ONLY for La Salle students so you must contact Jean to get the special price.
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PACE Program Partners On July 30, 2019, Mr. M. Patrick Henry signed a partnership with the University of La Verne for the Partnership for Access to College Education (PACE) Program. The PACE Program is one of the region’s largest student success initiatives. La Salle students will receive the following benefits: • Guaranteed admission to the University of La Verne for meeting GPA and ACT/ SAT thresholds (19 for ACT and 980 for SAT) • Minimum $10,000 annual scholarship, renewable up to four years • Application fee is waived • Deadline to apply for admission is February 1 • Summer visit days, on-the-spot admission, preview days, college workshops, and more For complete details, please visit : https://laverne.edu/admission/traditional-undergraduate/pace/.
Mr. Henry, photographed with Devorah Lieberman, President of University of La Verne, signs PACE Partnership.
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City of Pasadena and La Salle Parking Laws
The following rules and guidelines have been established by the administration and the Pasadena Police Department for the safety of your children.
Parents may drop off students in front of the gym and school in the designated curb side “drop off” lane. They may also drive into the school parking lot on Sierra Madre Boulevard entering the parking lot using the second gate west of the gym and then exit as indicated. There is no parking in front of the Sierra Madre Boulevard school parking lot from 7:00am to 4:00pm on school days. There is a 2 hour parking area in front of the gym and school from 9:00am to 9:00pm. The City has provided an additional drop-off zone going south on Michillinda Avenue, just north of the School’s driveway. This is for imediate drop-off only and is indicated as such. Both La Salle and the City are very concerned by the ongoing double, (and at times, triple) parking by parents during drop-off on Sierra Madre Boulevard. This is not only illegal, but extremely unsafe. The City will continue to enforce a no-left-turn policy for northbound Michillinda Avenue traffic onto Canfield Road and Landfair Road, as well as a no-right-turn policy for southbound traffic on Michillinda Avenue onto Canfield and Landfair. This policy is in effect from 7:00am to 8:00am, Monday through Friday. Parents are also reminded that there is ABSOLUTELY NO STUDENT DROP-OFF IN THE LOWER FACULTY PARKING LOT OR LOT ENTRANCE. Pulling into this lot entrance creates a very dangerous back-up of cars in the oncoming traffic lanes. You will be cited. Driving students must register their cars and pick up a 2019-2020 Parking Permit from the Dean of Students. The School also reminds our driving students that there is additional parking in the Sierra Madre United Methodist Church parking lot as they should not park their cars on residential streets such as Canfield Road. Parents should make use of the Sierra Madre Boulevard lot to pick up students at the end of the school day. We expect our parents and students to adhere to these policies and regulations. They will be enforced by the Pasadena Police Department. Contact Michael Stumpf, Dean of Students at 626.696.4371 if you have any concerns about these procedures.
Only Seniors with a parking permit are allowed in the upper parking lot.
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27 ANNUAL LANCER GOLF CLASSIC & FALL FUNDRAISER TH
Monday, October 14, 2019 San Gabriel Country Club
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN! lancergolf.givesmart.com Sponsorship & Underwriting Opportunities Available Contact Tara Morales: tmorales@lasallehs.org or 626.696.4381
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September Highlights September 2 Labor Day School Holiday September 5 Dress Uniform Liturgy Schedule Mass of the Holy Spirit Make Up Picture Day September 9 Freshman Retreat September 10 Freshman Service Day Parent Association Meeting 6:30pm Blakeslee Library Parent Boosters Meetings 7:30pm Campus Locations September 11 Dress Uniform Academic Awards Assembly September 13 Club Day 11:30am Dining Hall September 14 Senior Portraits 9:00am-5:00pm September 21 Decade of the 80s Reunion 6:00pm Campus Locations
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September 24 Cooking at Union Station Pasadena 6:00pm September 28 Crystal Ball Gift Gathering and Chili Cook Off 6:00pm Dining Hall October 3 Dress Uniform Liturgy Schedule October 4 Dollar Dress Day October 7 Faculty Inservice Student Holiday Los Angeles College Tour Alumni Board Meeting 5:30pm Blakeslee Library October 8 Parent Association 6:30pm BCCR Parent Boosters 7:30pm Campus Locations
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, NICOLE CARLOS '12 COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING COORDINATOR TELEPHONE: 626.696.4429 • EMAIL: NCARLOS@LASALLEHS.ORG
October 11 First Quarter Ends/ Eligibility Grades Due October 14 Lancer Golf Classic San Gabriel Country Club
Transforming Lives Since 1680