December Lantern 2016 by Presentation High School

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LANTERN Presentation High School Parent Newsletter | December 2016

Letter from the Principal

Parent Board

Dear Parents and Friends of Presentation,

Dear Parents and Pres Supporters,

On behalf of the faculty and staff, I want to wish you and your family a very happy and holy Christmas. Hopefully, we will all remember that this season is not about things, but about people—not about getting, but giving. The magic of Christmas is not found under a tree, but in a simple manger in a cold barn in Bethlehem. While what fills our consumer-based economy may be business, what feeds our hearts will never be found in shopping carts or catalogues.

December is here and the halls of Presentation are ringing with excitement as our students prepare for the end of the first semester, finals (!) and a well-deserved holiday break. Enjoy this break; 2017 is filled with fun activities for students and parents alike.

By Mary Miller ’72 | Principal, Presentation High School

As you celebrate this most blessed time of year, please know you will be in the thoughts and prayers of the Pres community; we wish you the gifts of peace, hope and love. I leave you with excerpts from a prayer written by Diana Macalintal, Director of Worship in the Diocese of San Jose. It is entitled: Intercessions for after the Elections. Let us pray… May each of us in the United States soften our hearts with kindliness that we may listen to one another with respect, express our thoughts with humble clarity, and always seek the good in the other as we strive to form a more perfect union. May we never lose hope in the mercy of God even in the midst of chaos, and may we never tire of doing good for the sake of the Gospel. May those chosen to carry the burden of office be given wisdom to know what is right and just and be strengthened to always work for the common good. May we learn to love each other despite our differences and focus on the work that continues beyond the election: the work of unity, respect for one another and for all life, and peace in our world. In all we do, may we keep the merciful face of Christ ever before us— who is seen in those who are poor, refugees or migrants; those who are sick or without homes; those without food or meaningful work; those unborn; those on death row and those whose lives are unvalued. WE PRAY. Blessings at Christmas and a joy-filled 2017.

Mary Miller ’72

By Joel Dibble | Parent Board President | jcdibble17@gmail.com

The new year marches in with two big events: the State of the School Address on Tuesday, Jan. 31 and Crab Feed on Saturday, Feb. 11. Both events are sure to brighten your Presentation spirit and leave you with a renewed spring in your step. Mary Miller’s State of the School Address is a wonderful opportunity to hear about how our school is excelling academically and financially as well as what plans are underway for the future. This presentation is open to current and prospective students and families; feel free to invite others. Crab Feed is another wonderful event for current and prospective families! My opinion after attending Crab Feed is always, “Wow! That was an amazing party!” Fantastic food, theme drinks, creative decorations and dancing to a DJ—what’s not to love? Don’t forget to order Starbucks cards for the holidays. They make great stocking stuffers or thank you gifts for the special people in your life. Proceeds benefit our favorite girls in plaid. Visit the Presentation website for more information on these events and much more in the new year. On behalf of all the members of the Parent Board, I would like to wish you and your family a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Attendance Office Friendly reminders from the Attendance Office: If your daughter needs to leave early: In the rare instance when your daughter needs to leave school for an appointment, please send her to the Attendance Office before school begins with a note from you stating the reason she needs to leave and the time of her dismissal. She will be given an early dismissal notice from the Attendance Secretary. If your daughter is absent or late: • If your daughter is coming to school late or not at all, please call the Attendance Office at (408) 266-1060 no later than 9 a.m. • All absences require a written note signed by a parent the day she returns to school. Faxes and emails are not accepted. • Your daughter is considered absent if she arrives after 8 a.m. (unless she has a free period) and will need a parent note when she checks into the Attendance Office. For further information, please review the detailed attendance policy in your daughter’s academic planner. If you have any other questions, please contact the Attendance Office at (408) 266-1060 or by email at cfurtado@presentationhs.org.

The Lantern | December 2016

Help Support the Endowment for Financial Aid! If you are looking for a last-minute tax deduction as the year comes to a close, please consider making a donation to help fulfill our wish list for the upcoming Presentation Fashion Show 2017. Let Yourself Blossom is looking for donations to help build our benefit raffle packages. These packages are a considerable part of our fashion show fundraising efforts. Any donation made before Dec. 31 will be deductible for 2016 and will support Fashion Show 2017, which benefits the Endowment for Financial Aid. Wish list items include: • Airfare or hotel certificates to Washington, D.C. or other exciting destinations! • Jewelry • Dinner and theater tickets in San Francisco • Shopping spree gift cards • Technology: computer, Apple TV, iPhone or GoPro • Sporting event tickets: Sharks, 49ers, Raiders, Warriors, A's and Giants • Golf certificates, limo, yacht or private plane excursions The sky is the limit on donation options, so please feel free to make another suggestion or provide a business contact. Sponsorships for Let Yourself Blossom are another great way to show your Presentation spirit and help your bottom line in the process. To learn more, visit www.presentationhs.org/fashionshow. Please consider a donation or sponsorship before the end of the year. Let Yourself Blossom is April 7 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Contact the Office of Advancement at (408) 264-5110 for more information. www.presentationhs.org 3

Panther Pride Athletics Swimmer Audrey Berner ’17 is one of 20 nationwide finalists selected for the Positive Coaching Alliance’s Triple Impact Competitor Scholarship. Awareness and Advocacy Sophomore Shelby Silva organized an Earthquake Awareness Faire for her Girl Scout Gold Award. She organized nine speakers with information booths and hosted the Big Shaker, the world's largest earthquake simulator.

College Counseling

By MaryLynne Rodriguez | College Counseling Director Most students and families believe completing their applications is the most challenging part of the college admissions process. While this can be true in certain circumstances, often the most difficult piece students and parents encounter begins once the ‘submit’ button is selected. Depending upon the type of application, whether it be rolling admissions or regular decision, students can receive a decision within two weeks or several months. Knowing that every part of the application process is now outside of your control—and that an admissions officer is making a judgement call on your daughter’s perceived merits—can be daunting to consider. The wait you have to endure can feel long and tedious, and it can be challenging to focus as the weeks turn into days leading up to the release of admissions decisions. With early applications, students can expect an admissions result during the Christmas break. To put it simply, this can be either very good or very bad. What we have to brace for, however, is both. There will be positive outcomes. There will be negative results. When one door closes, another opens. As parents and guardians, your role is to model optimism in the face of disappointment. In my work with students, I find the most difficult part of receiving a denial is the fear of disappointing their parents, relatives and friends. The more focus placed upon one college or set of colleges, the more difficult it is to accept the rejection. It feels personal, and the anticipation of how others will respond can be agonizing. Most students will experience at least one or more denials this season. How your family responds to this will make all the difference. While it is natural to mourn the loss of a favorite college that is no longer an option, focus should be placed upon the the options still available. Last year, nearly 80 percent of our seniors were accepted to their first or second choice college. This is an amazing result considering the variety of colleges our students apply to. During this season of hope, my wish is for all of you to know there will be a place for your daughter somewhere, somehow. It may not be evident at this point in time, but a clear choice will emerge. In the meantime, let your daughter know how proud you are of her accomplishments despite admissions results, which will make all the difference to her. 4

The Lantern | December 2016

Community Involvement Congratulations to our Community Involvement members who have been recognized as service stars during the first semester of the school year: Anushree Ari, Shannon Miranda, Valerie Wu, Miranda Long and Dai-An Le. Speech and Debate Aarushi Sahejpal and Maria Mason advanced to the elimination rounds of their respective events at the Yale Speech and Debate Invitational in New Haven, Connecticut. At the CFL varsity level, Megan Munce earned first place in expository speaking, Laurenn Vives, Megan Munce, Manush Mobarhan and Talla Khelgati were undefeated in public forum debate and Aarushi Sahejpal was undefeated in Lincoln-Douglas debate. At the CFL novice level, Ria Nawathe placed first in original advocacy and Mitra Rezvany placed second in expository speaking. At the University of the Pacific Tournament, Pres placed third overall. Students made it to the finals or semifinals of each event they entered, with novice and varsity taking home first, second and third place awards. Robotics The Presentation Robotics team was part of the top-seeded alliance at the 2016 Chezy Champs Competition hosted at Bellarmine. Presentation Robotics entered two robots at the MadTown Throwdown Competition in Madera, earning the eighth and third seeded alliances respectively. Squad members won the “Wow Factor” award for the shooting mechanism they engineered. Math Contests Congratulations to the winners of our October and November math contests for their outstanding scores. In October, there was a three-way tie between Jacqueline Burd, Samhita Krishnan and Rithu Paramesh. In November, there was a nine-way tie between Alyssa Ungerer, Natasha Aji, Nikitha Kalahasti, Lauren Gotshall, Anusha Ghosh, Gurmehr Klair, Rithu Paramesh, Daphne Chen, and Swati Swaminathan.

Physical Education

Campus Ministry

Swim to Remember Our annual Swim to Remember swim-a-thon raised more than $10,000 for the Claire Buchser Memorial Scholarship and Bay Area Cancer Connections! Thank you to all the participants, volunteers, sponsors, faculty and staff for your support.

“Lord God, only you can see into my heart and know that under all the 'busy-ness’ of my life, there is a deep longing to make this Advent one that welcomes you more deeply. My heart desires the warmth of your love and my mind searches for your light in the midst of the darkness. Help me to be a peacemaker this Advent and to love and respect those who disagree with me. Give me the strength and courage to forgive those who have hurt me. Help me to free my heart from the prison of my anger and hurt. Amen.”

American Heart Association, Heartsaver Course Sophomore students enrolled in our Wellness and Prevention course received American Heart Association course completion cards for Adult, Child, Infant CPR and use of the AED. Congratulations!

Under the “busy-ness,” what are you longing for? Our students have a variety of answers to this question: self-confidence, genuine friendships, an appreciation for God’s blessings, etc. St. Ignatius writes that God shares our deepest desires. The season of Advent, which began on Sunday, Nov. 27 and continues until Christmas, is focused on this holy longing. It is a season to look forward to the birth of Christ and the fullness of the Kingdom of God, a time of justice and peace. This is a hopeful waiting because we know Christmas is coming, when God takes on our humanity in the person of Jesus. In the words of Henri Nouwen, Jesus “is our Lord, our shepherd, our rock, our stronghold, our refuge, our brother, our guide, and our friend. He came from God to be with us, he was raised from the dead to open for us the way to God, and he is seated at God’s right hand to welcome us home.” At Presentation, we will celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Dec. 8 at 11:05 a.m. We will also celebrate the end of the semester with an all-school Christmas Prayer Service on Dec. 19 at 12:30 p.m. As always, you are welcome to join us in prayer and worship.

Community Involvement

Astronomy Club

An important part of Community Involvement at Presentation is our immersion trips. These trips give students the opportunity to learn more about complicated social justice issues by engaging in hands-on community work.

The new Astronomy Club at Presentation is off to a stellar start! All 50 of our members are students who are excited about astronomy, the planets, and space exploration. The club meets once a month at lunch. At the meetings the officers discuss a topic in astronomy and current events in the news about space exploration or what is happening in the night sky that month. Topics discussed include favorite apps to use for finding celestial objects in the night sky, types of galaxies, and constellations and myths.

Our first trip of this school year took place two days after the election. Six students and two faculty members traveled to Washington, D.C. to participate in the annual Ignatian Family Teach-In. Below is a reflection from Megan Munce ’18, one of the students who attended the trip. "Along with more than 1,400 students from other Catholic schools, we had the opportunity to go to Washington, D.C. to learn about and advocate for criminal justice and immigration reform. We listened to speakers such as Father Gregory Boyle, S.J., the author of Tattoos on the Heart and founder of Homeboy Industries, and Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, the founder of NETWORK, a Catholic advocacy network. On the last day of the trip, we visited members of Congress to urge them to fight for justice and equity. In the wake of a polarizing and emotionally taxing election, this trip helped us get out gather our thoughts and transition into an attitude of action."

In addition to the monthly meetings, the club holds two viewing nights a semester where students can look through binoculars and telescopes at planets and galaxies and try their skills at identifying constellations. Our first viewing night had more than 20 students in attendance, and most were able to see the rings of Saturn through a telescope! Our next viewing night will be Dec. 13 at 5:30 p.m. We hope to see meteors from the Geminids meteor shower and a view of Venus! It’s sure to be out of this world!

For more information on CI's immersion trips visit the Presentation website or email Lindsay Swoboda at lswoboda@presentationhs.org. www.presentationhs.org 5

Performing Arts By Jim Houle | Performing Arts Director

A Singular Sensation By all accounts, our recent production of A Chorus Line was a stellar production that lifted the spirits of our community. Congratulations to our every member of our cast and crew, with a special hats-off to seniors Rachel Johnson and Maia Lwin who expertly stage-managed. It was an ambitious undertaking but our students (including our all-girl set crew and a 15-piece professional band) rose to the challenge to create an amazing show!

Bella Voce

By Gabriella Gomez | Bella Voce Public Relations Representative Bella Voce and Cantabile have been hard at work preparing our winter repertoire for our upcoming concerts. Additionally, Bella Voce is preparing to perform at the CASMEC statewide music educator’s conference in February. Members of Bella Voce have been helping with our Middle School Workshop program rehearsals, aiding the participants in learning their pieces for the upcoming Winter Concert. The workshop participants will sing several pieces, including some in conjunction with Bella Voce and Cantabile. Don't miss our upcoming concerts! For Piano I and Voice I students, a semester-end recital will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 9. The show begins at 7 p.m. in the Valenzuela Theater. Come see Bella Voce and Cantabile perform, along with our award-winning dance team at the Dance Cabaret on Dec. 2. If want to get into the Christmas spirit, the Winter Choir Concerts will be held on Friday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Valenzuela Theater at Presentation, and Saturday, Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in downtown San Jose at the beautiful Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph. Join us in this magnificent performance space as we celebrate Christmas through music, with songs reflecting the nativity story and the birth of Jesus.

Another Evening of Theater from ITS On Dec. 7 at 7 p.m., we will be hosting a double feature in the theater. First, our International Thespian Society students will write, direct and star in their own plays and scenes. After that, our hard-working improvisation team, Spontaneous Combustion, will perform feats of quick humor and made-up-on-the-spot comedy. Come to the theater to support our students! Opening Next Month Footloose will be our next mainstage production. This high energy, 80s themed musical tells the story of a town where dancing is against the law. The show runs for just six performances from Jan. 21-29. Don’t miss this offering from our cast of talented students. Tickets will be available through the online box office: www.presentationhs.org/boxoffice.

Spring Play Auditions for our spring play, Homer’s The Odyssey, are Jan. 25 and 26 from 3-6 p.m. in the Valenzuela Theater. Performances are March 11-19. All Pres students are welcome to audition, as are any high school aged boys from our local community. See you at the theater!

Dance Team By Sophia Brahney '18

Support Presentation's dance program at the Dance Cabaret on Friday, Dec. 2! Enjoy performances from the Presentation Dance Team, Dance Company, our third and fourth period dance classes, Bella Voce and Cantabile. In addition to the show, there will be a gift basket raffle, a 50/50 raffle, dessert and a hot chocolate bar! You will not want to miss this amazing night of performances. Buy your tickets through the Presentation website today: www.presentationhs.org/boxoffice. On Jan. 21, the Dance Team has its first competition of the season at Presentation. Please come out and support the team! 6

The Lantern | December 2016

Athletics Greetings, Presentation Community! What an exciting fall season for our athletics program! Cross Country • Our varsity cross country team finished second in the WCAL, qualifying for the CCS race at Crystal Springs in Belmont on Nov. 12. • Our JV cross country team earned top honors as the 2016 WCAL champion. Well done and congratulations! Field Hockey Congratulations to varsity field hockey for earning the CCS Scholastic Award. With a team GPA of 3.74, varsity field hockey had the second highest team GPA of all the teams in CCS. Golf Our golf team also earned a CCS Scholastic Award with its impressive 3.91 team GPA. This was the highest team GPA of all the golf teams in CCS and the fourth highest team GPA in all CCS sports. Way to go, golf team! Tennis Our doubles team of Kim Krtolica and Mallory Menne advanced to the quarterfinals of the WCAL tournament. Water Polo Our water polo team earned the #6 seed in the CCS tournament and advanced to the CCS quarterfinals. Volleyball Our volleyball team earned the #3 seed in the CCS tournament and finished in second place. They qualified for the NorCal tournament and are ranked #4 in all of Northern California. On Nov. 10, we honored six of our student-athletes who will be continuing their athletic careers in college. • Gabby Forbes: softball at California State University, Monterey Bay • Brittany Gillingham: volleyball at Santa Clara University • Emma Hewlin: volleyball at Connecticut College • Gabrielle Landess: gymnastics at the University of California, Davis • Kiana McCaul: softball at Columbia University • McKenna Zimmermann: gymnastics at Seattle Pacific University This fall, our student-athletes had a great time volunteering with BAWSI (Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative). On Thursday afternoons, a group of Presentation students mentored and played games with fourth and fifth graders at Blackford Elementary School. We’re hoping to continue our partnership with BAWSI in the spring. Thank you all for your continued support of the Presentation Athletic Program.

Varsity Home Games Basketball Thursday, Dec. 8 vs. Westmont High School | 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15 vs. Soquel High School | 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17 Varsity Shootout | 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22 vs. Los Gatos High School | 2 p.m.

Soccer Thursday, Dec. 1 vs. Piedmont Hills | 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10 vs. Willow Glen High School | 1 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15 vs. Leland High School | 3:15 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17 vs. Menlo Atherton High School | 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 28 vs. San Benito High School | 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 31 Alumnae Game | 12 p.m.

Go Panthers! Stacey Mallison Athletic Director

www.presentationhs.org 7

December 2016 SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

For complete calendar visit www.presentationhs.org/calendar

Sophomore College Information Night, 7-8:30 p.m., Valenzuela Theater

7 TADA! Meeting, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Reception Room

THURSDAY

8 ITS Christmas and Improv Show, 7-9 p.m., Valenzuela Theater

FRIDAY Dance Cabaret, 2 7-9:30 p.m., Miller

Athletic Complex

Panther Puff, 12:30-3 p.m., Mani Hernandez Field

Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, 11:05 a.m., Miller Winter Choir Concert, Athletic Complex 7-8:30 p.m, Valenzuela

Theater

Booster Board Meeting, 7-9 p.m., Library

SATURDAY

Finals 1, 2

10 Winter Choir Concert, 7-9 p.m., Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph

School Buildings Close at 2 p.m.

20 Finals 3, 4

25 Christmas Vacation

26 Christmas Vacation

21 Finals 5, 6

27 Christmas Vacation

Final 7

School Buildings Close at 1 p.m.

28 Christmas Vacation

Christmas Vacation

24 Christmas Vacation

31 Christmas Vacation (through Jan. 10)

DECEMBER 2016 Presentation High School The Lantern 2281 Plummer Avenue San Jose, CA 95125