October 7, 2005

HIGH SCHOOL SCENE

College Night 2005 coming to EVHS Nov. 1

The annual San Jose Consortium “College Night ” hosted by the East Side Union High School District will be held at Evergreen Valley High School, located at 3300 Quimby Road, in the gym on Tuesday, Nov. 1, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

ESUHSD expects more than 100 colleges and universities to send representatives, including campuses of the University of California (UC) system and the California State University (CSU) system, all military academies, local community colleges, many private colleges, as well as other colleges and universities throughout California and the country.

All students and their parents are encouraged to attend and take this opportunity to ask questions of the college admissions representatives. The timing of this “College Night ” is especially pertinent for seniors as the “admissions season” generally begins in November for the fall semester of 2005. Juniors are also urged to attend.

East Side Union High School District counselors will be available to confer with individual parents and students on
college admissions requirements and procedures. Information on admission testing, SAT and Advance Placement will also be available.

College Night is sponsored by ESUHSD, but it also serves students and their families from Gilroy Unified San Jose Unified, Morgan Hill Unified, Milpitas Unified, Campbell Union and Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union school districts.

Because this event includes almost 30 high schools throughout the San Jose region, average attendance exceeds 4,000 students and parents. Due to the large attendance, students and parents are encouraged to get there as early as possible. Parking will be available in both parking lots, located off Quimby Road. There is a lot below the school and one above the school.

For more information, contact Ralph Giannini, gianninir@esuhsd.org.

Biehl elected EVHS site council chairperson

On Oct. 5, at its first organizational meeting of the 2005-06 school year, the site council at Evergreen Valley High School re-elected Frank Biehl as chairperson. Biehl, a 15-year Evergreen resident, was first elected chairperson in 2003. This will be his third term.

Frank Biehl, Chairperson, EVSH Site Council.

Biehl and his wife Barbara have two children. Their oldest son, Brian, is a junior at Evergreen.

Michael Gabler was elected to a second term as vice-chairperson. Gabler, first elected to the council as a parent/community member in 2004, is President of Evergreen-Cedar Grove Neighborhood Association.
Susie Caton, a counselor at Evergreen, was elected secretary.

Newly elected parent representatives include Jim Zito, a San Jose Planning Commissioner, Ila Joshi a Junior Achievement volunteer and Leslie Glovin, a member of the District Parent Safety Council.

Alan Chin and Sandra Rasmussen were appointed alternates.

The school site council has 32 elected members including teachers, students, administrators, classified school employees, and parents/community representatives. The council is charged with preparing a comprehensive plan for student achievement. Meetings are open to the public and are held the first Wednesday of the month in the Administration building at Evergreen High.

Stolen handgun found on EVHS campus

Last month a stolen handgun surfaced on the Evergreen Valley High School campus during the school day, according to EVHS Principal Tim McDonough.

“What’s worse, the gun was shown and handled by students during school time,” said McDonough in his weekly autodial message to EVHS families. “And of most concern to me, at least 10 and maybe 20 students saw the gun, knew who had it and said NOTHING.”

He learned of the gun when two parents called the school after their children talked to them. “The good news is, no one was hurt,” said McDonough. “Arrests were made, I have recommended expulsion for one student and transfers to other schools for three other students.”

McDonough was very concerned about the students’ attitude of silence over safety.

“We are fortunate to live in such a privileged community,” said McDonough. “Our elementary schools are some of the best in the county. Our churches of all denominations, our scouts and our sports clubs all contribute to a strong and
positive community. But too many of our children, my students, do not act in a crisis reflecting the values of our schools, our churches and our community organizations emphasize.”

He added our community is not safe if we do not act and do what we know is the right thing to do, especially at times of crisis. “The crisis we have had was a moral crisis— deciding whether to speak up when we know something is wrong,” he added. “With weapons, this is a ‘no brainer.’”

New Silver Creek principal attracting media attention

Silver Creek Principal Thelma Boac (left) pauses for a photo during a media interview.

Thelma Boac, the new principal of Silver Creek High School, is creating quite a stir as only the second Filipina principal in the East Side Union High School District in 24 years. A television feature profile, filmed by the media from her native Philippines will air on KTSF channel 26 (channel 8 on cable) between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 9. The profile is in English.

Silver Creek PTSA begins major fundraising drive

The Silver Creek High School Parent Teacher Student Association has set an aggressive fund-raising goal of $100,000 to support a number of programs and projects to enhance the learning experience at Silver Creek this year.

To empower the staff and teachers at Silver Creek to offer the best education possible in a safe and enriching environment, PTSA hopes to fund the following programs and projects this year:

• Honor students who improve their STAR scores with achievement awards

• Upgrade the main gymnasium ventilation system

• Establish the SCHS Raiders Literary Quill Magazine

• Print the new Raiders campus newspaper

• Create/expand the music and band programs

• Modernize the laboratory equipment in the award-winning science labs

• Fund the upkeep of electronic communications at Silver Creek

For more information, join the Yahoo! group, SilverCreekPTSA, or e-mail the group at SilverCreekPTSA@yahoogroups.com.

Craft Faire to be held Nov. 5 at Millbrook Elementary School

The Millbrook Elemen-tary School PTA is hosting its second annual Shopping Extravaganza and Craft Faire on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 3200 Millbrook Drive.

If you need to find a gift or want to start holiday shopping, stop by anytime between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. in the multipurpose room. Admission and parking is free.

Among the 30 vendors you’ll find the Scholastic Book Faire, candles, jewelry, scrapbook ideas, rubber stamping, handmade crafts, holiday items and much more at this one-day event. Bring the entire family to enjoy food concessions, hourly raffle drawings and a children arts and craft area.

All proceeds will benefit Millbrook School. Enrich-ment funds—assemblies, field trips, supplies, books, teacher support services—will go directly to the students, teachers and classrooms. 

If you are crafty and interested in selling your crafts, please contact the event coordinator, Laura Quisenberry, at (408) 270-6767. Space based on availability.