pfc newsletter O A K
P A R K
H I G H
March 2012
S C H O O L www.oakparkusd.org/ophs
The Principal’s Message National Merit Finalists Congratulations to OPHS National Merit Finalists: Brandon Camhi, Allison Dodds, Stefan Kim, Angela Lin, Amir Mohammadzadeh, Isabella Sayyah, and Moe Scott. All seven of Oak Park High’s National Merit Semifinalists have been named National Merit Finalists. This is a remarkable achievement and very rare that all of the semi-finalists make it to become finalists. These students are considered in top 1% of high school seniors in the nation out of 1.3 million students. To become a Finalist, Semifinalists must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the high school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test. The Semifinalist must submit a detailed scholarship application, which includes an essay and information about the Semifinalist’s participation and leadership in school and community activities. Homer Dickerson Youth Ethics Contest The Thousand Oaks-Westlake Village Regional Chamber of Commerce joined the Westlake Village Rotary Club to sponsor the Homer Dickerson Youth Leadership and Ethics Forum; a program that helps high school students explore issues related to business ethnics and leadership qualities. The following students were selected as finalists for the Homer Dickerson Youth Ethics Contest and attended the conference held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library: Allen Lu, Eric Jones, Avyay Panchapakesan, Morgan McIntyre; Aaron Schroeder; Meril Arik; Austin Perksy, Amy Zhao, Sai Maddali, Justin Camhi, and Michelle Smolarski. OPHS Junior Justin Camhi, won the first place award Thursday for his submission to the dilemma scenario contest and Alex Kim, OPHS Junior, received second place.
OPHS Organic Garden The OPHS organic garden is ready for Spring planting. The potable water has been hooked up and the drip-irrigation system is about to be installed. The gates have been fixed to secure the area and a critter fence installed. The trees have been trimmed to allow more sunlight into the area. The OPHS Garden Club has received donations of tools and equipment from the community. Kellogg donated another 180 bags of certified organic soil, and an OPHS student built the raised beds as part of his Eagle Scout project. A memorial bench to commemorate John Belingaire, who helped build the garden and passed away recently, will be moved in in the upcoming days. Our wood shop will engrave a plaque for the bench. CIF Basketball Playoffs Congratulations to both Girls and Boys Varsity Basketball teams who reached the finals of the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section playoffs at the Anaheim Convention Center the first week of March. The boys beat St. John Bosco High School and the girls beat Atascadero High School in the semifinals and it is a proud accomplishment to have two teams reach CIF finals.
Congratulations to all our Talented Eagles!