Save the Daylight!

WARRIOR NEWS 

In Collaboration with Aidee Hernandez (Senior), Rafael Maciel (Senior) and Crystal Roblejo (freshman) 

Warriors have a LOT going on, so it is a great thing we manipulated the clocks to eek out some extra daylight! Let's look at what's been happening in Warrior Territory...

College Fair
For the second year in a row, a district college fair descended upon our campus, inviting students in the MDUSD and presenters from colleges around the country to meet together and discuss what they could do for each other. The fair was incredibly organized, spear-headed by our own PTSA President, Ilana Samuels, and students came to get an idea of what schools were out there and how they can get their feet in the door.

Combined Choirs Concert
For the second year in history, the choirs of MDUSD came together musically at Ygnacio Valley for a wonderful combined choir concert. Each group sang pieces prepared at their school sites, and they had the opportunity to sing together for a couple of numbers as well. What a wonderful event! And thank you to all of the vocal music directors for bringing the kids together in song! See a video HERE...

Guitar Concert OGMS
YV guitar players, led by Geoff Carter, collaborated with their younger counterparts at Oak Grove Middle for a guitar concert that was a wonderful success! Congrats to all of the strummers and thank you to Mr Carter for all of the hard work pulling this together! 

Puente Field Trip
Our Puente program, in its 3rd year, took their students on a whirlwind tour of Southern California colleges for a wonderful field trip organized by program leaders Kara Yu and Socorro Lomas. Students traveled by charter bus and averaged about 4 college visits a day, favorites being UCLA and USC of course. The program goal is to graduate college bound students, ones who would be the first in their families to go on to higher education - and this trip was certainly inspiring to our kids! Thank you Ms. Yu, Ms. Hopper and Ms. Lomas! 

Special Olympics
For the 5th year at YVHS, the regional Special Olympics came to our campus, where students (including some Warriors) competed in soccer. Over 80 YV students served as volunteers for the event, coordinated by interim VP Mike Ing. Many classes brought their students out to watch, and it was a wonderful day on campus for all! Be on the lookout for the spring dates for the Special Olympics track and field event as well! 

Senior Night Football and Cheer
Regular football season wrapped up with a game versus Clayton Valley Charter at home, and we took some time to honor our senior football players and cheerleaders for their last home game. 12 seniors on football and 7 on cheer were escorted by their parents, families, teachers and loved ones to wish them luck for the years ahead and to say thank you for all you've done for the school- we are proud to have you Warriors! 

 

NAPA Band Review
Our marching band also celebrated their seniors in their last March of the year at the Napa Band Review. While the Golden Warriors did not place, they had a wonderful showing at this prestigious event and we look forward to them marching on the French Quarter this winter!

Watch part of their performance HERE

Halloween

Halloween was festive and fun for the Warriors with what felt like the largest costume participation we have had in years! Some great creative costumes came out for the occasion and a good time had by all.. 

 

Getting Darker these Days...

As fall darkens the skies, the Warriors march on- here is what happened last week- 

The Band Takes on Santa Cruz
The Golden Warriors marched on Santa Cruz for the annual Band Review, where the Color Guard took the honors this time around in 3rd place. Excellent work, Warriors! 

ASB Cleans the Campus
In an impromptu service project, the ASB team while cleaning up from the homecoming dance, found the campus to be riddled with trash- best way to make change is to start within, so the class decided to run a quick campus cleanup. Great job Warriors, and thank you! 

Ed Academy Bonding
The Education Academy took a day on Wednesday to work on their cohesiveness and tolerance between grade levels as they went to the field for the day and did team building with a barbecue. They enjoyed field games, food, and then got a little deeper as the day went on, getting to know each other on another level. Kudos to Ed Teachers Thatcher Palmer, Leslie Addiego, Nicole Kipnis, and Jim Lyon for bringing the kids together and running this great event! 

"Lights Out" for the After School Program
The After School Program, led by Allyn Monzon, led their second annual "lights out" event, this time hosted by Sun Terrace Elementary School. There, programs throughout the district were able to highlight what they had to offer, coming just weeks after California was awarded with the Best After School Programs in the country. This valuable program continues to serve our students with Breakdance Club, Cheer, After School tutoring, Homework Center, Madrigals, Warrior Chef, and more. 

Senior Night for Volleyball
The Lady Warrior Volleyball team played their last regular home game this Thursday against Northgate High School. Seniors Kia Howell, Kyedda Gabuat, Maddie King, and Ariana Whitmarsh were honored, and the Warriors fought the Broncos valiantly, ultimately falling to them in three sets. The Ladies will end their season on the road this Tuesday against Concord High School. 

Fall Concert
The Jazz Band, Wind Ensemble and Choirs brought music to the MU Thursday with their annual fall concert. Audiences were treated to some delightful sounds, and Mr. Carter even sat in with the jazz band to play keyboards on a number. All thanks go to Mr. Pattison for the instrumental music excellence, and Mr. Carter with the choir- great job! 

JV Football with a Resounding WIN
Friday, Jv and Varsity Football met up at Mt Diablo High School to face off against the Red Devils. The JV team dominated their game and beat the Devils easily. The Varsity team fought and were up at half, only to work hard in a nail biter down to the last 10 seconds, losing by a narrow margin of 34-31. 

HOMECOMING WEEK!

Homecoming!! The sounds of fall, the early darkness, and the on-campus festivities- ever-present this year as any other! Warriors celebrated Homecoming week with their spirit days-

Monday was Dynamic Duo day- Warriors "twinned" with their BFF's or came as a pair!

Staff Twins Kelly Perkins and Kelly Cooper

Students Kayteeand Vivi

Staff Duo from the Health Academy Shannon Carr and Bethan Lamb

JV Cross Country Runners- Sofia Campos and Cambra Lutz- Sofia placed 4th at this DVAL meet! 

Tuesday was Mardi Gras day- YV was decked out in green, gold, and purple, channeling their inner cajuns, and beads were a'plenty around campus.

Wednesday was Breast Cancer Awareness day- bring out your pink and honor our fighting Warriors in our lives

Thursday was Aloha day, with the flower prints and tropical leis all around the Warrior Ohana, capping off the events with our annual Homecoming Rally!

The Rally was one to remember, opening with an outstanding performance by our Concert Choir, led by Mr. Geoff Carter, as the Warriors sang "Minoi Minoi" 

There were some fun rally games and a lot of school spirit

Dance 3 performed a Polynesian number choreographed by YV alum Aivi Alatini (Lamipeti) who donated her time and expertise to get the Warrior Dancers ready for the theme. See their performance here...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/s3g45bgy8ykg92f/2014-10-16%2012.44.56.mov?dl=0

Dancers with Choreographer alum Aivi Lamipeti-Alatini- and Leila Fa Class of 2009 

 

Finally, all of the homecoming court nominees were honored, and the senior nominees performed their hilarious skits.

Friday night the Warrior Football team took on College Park for their homecoming game - While they fought a hard battle, the score ended with the Warriors losing a heartbreaker to the Falcons 26-54.

Also at the game, during half time- our 2014 Homecoming Queen and King were crowned- Priscilla Arredondo and Speedy Lopez! 

King Speedy and Queen Priscilla shown here with 2013 winners Nargis Safi and Patrick Valencia

Saturday night YV came back and danced beneath the gardenias for their tropical themed homecoming dance.

What a great week! Thank you to ASB and Corissa Stobing for planning and executing these great events for our YV community!

Coming up! 

Fall Concert and Volleyball Senior Night THIS THURSDAY

Warrior FB meets up at Mt Diablo to take on the Red Devils at 7pm Friday

Then Next Week YV hosts the District College Faire on Tuesday, the All District Choir Festival on Wednesday! Don't miss them! 

RockTober!

It's a great time in Warrior Territory as baseball goes to playoffs (with all California teams making it to post season - wahhhh??), Hockey season begins, Football is in full swing, and the weather... well, remains unchanging for now. Homecoming brings back the alums, and everyone gets excited for the first dance of the year!

But what's been happening?

"GOOD MORNING WARRIORS!" That's right, you have now starting hearing two smooth young voices every Monday, bringing you the latest in Warrior news over the intercom- those two bright stars are Seniors Josiah Cisler and Michael Mendoza! They are now reading the announcements every Monday and keepin us all informed. Both young men are on our cheer team (Michael is Captain), both are active in our ASB Leadership class, and both are simply put, awesome.

Sports Med Gives Back
Last week after a particularly messy day at YVHS, and before three games that the Warriors would be hosting that evening, the sports medicine class decided enough was enough and took to the quad.. and the basketball courts, and the front of the school, the lawn... A quick trash cleanup did the trick- and here's hoping for a more long term solution, as the trash is getting a bit out of hand. Ideas?

Varsity Volleyball gives CHS a run
The Girls Volleyball team was not going to just roll over for the Minutemen as they probably expected- the Warriors took the team to 4 games, keeping them close, and keeping up a great fight in their game against Concord High last week. Look for the Warriors to take on College Park at CP this Tuesday, before hosting the Mt Diablo Red Devils on Thursday. 

Health Academy visits Contra Costa Fire
The Health Academy sophomores went on their first field trip on Thursday. It was their first experience representing the Health Academy in their suits, the looked great!
Half of the class went to the Contra Costa Fire Station and met with the firefighters on duty. They learned about the many career paths available to firefighters and the training and education needed. They were given a tour of the medical equipment used at medical and fire emergencies. Over 90% of calls firefighters respond to are medical! The students were able to try on the gear and explore the technology available to fight fires. The firefighters were so welcoming and helpful. The other half of the class will attend on December. 

Breast Cancer Awareness Month
The Warriors have gone pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Did you know 1 in 8 women in their lifetime will develop breast cancer? And that ratio is getting higher. Warriors band together to remember those who have fought and honor those who are fighting now. We have several survivors on campus, including Ms. Sharon Thompson, who just passed her 10 year cancer free mark this month! Congrats Mrs. Thompson! 

The Football and Cheer Teams have gone pink for their games, while the ASB Leadership class sold Warriors Fight for the Cure shirts for the student body, and the Renaissance Leadership class is hosting a ribbon signing to post up on campus. 

Together we can make a difference! 

ASB Leadership heads to the Area A Conference
The ASB Leadership class went out to YOLO county this past week to collaborate with other leadership classes in the Area, hear from some motivational speakers, and get some ideas for the year. Inspiration is the spark for a great year in Student Activities, and our class has been a leading class in the state for excellence for the past 5 years! Go Warriors! 

Guitar Concert for the Fall
The Intro and Advanced Guitar classes held their first Fall Concert this past week in the Multi Use room, playing songs together and as individual groups for a rapt audience. Led by Mr. Geoff Carter, the class learned what stage fright was and overcame it as they played their tunes for the crowds. Look for this talented group at the upcoming Carols by Candlelight show with choir and dance in December! 

Cross Country to Newhall Park
Our Cross country team made a great showing last week at Newhall Park vs College Park and Concord High School, with our own 11th grader Jorge Bernabe Velzaquez coming in 3rd place in the race. 

Go Warriors! 

and the Band Marches On
The Golden Warrior Marching band took to the streets of San Francisco for the Annual Italian Heritage Parade yesterday in honor of Christopher Columbus day. Another great performance for the Warriors, be looking for the band at Homecoming this week! 

Building a community

Senior Picnic
On Tuesday Sept 16th, Seniors embarked on their annual trip together, the senior picnic- at Little Hills in San Ramon. They were treated to amazing weather, an outstanding student turnout, lots of activities, and a lot of fun. The Senior class proved to be one of the best in recent history, getting compliments from park staff on their congeniality and manners. They enjoyed basketball, volleyball, softball, soccer, tug of war, water balloon tosses, rock climbing, swimming, and even some organized cannon-balling! 
See video here- http://youtu.be/at0UAWjNe4w

Good time had by all and big thanks to the ASB Senior Class officers led by Ms. Corissa Stobing for organizing such a great event! 

Breaking Down the Walls
The week of Sept 22-25 marked a first for the Warriors, through the funding of the Positive Behavior Intervention Strategies Grant, when the Warriors participated in Breaking Down the Walls, a program designed to foster community and prevent bullying and strife. 

The event began Monday with guest speaker Tyler Durman, from southern California, who spoke about needing each other and how it is "hard to hate someone whose story you know." The students were completely engaged in the talk and Mr. Durman was very well received that day. 

The rest of the week included smaller group workshops with about 150 students each day participating, and 3-5 staff as well. Participants were guided through various activities to get to know one another and to let down their guard, and the day culminated with some true and difficult confessions, the result being as promised, a greater community feel, and participants learning that they are in no way alone with whatever they might be dealing with at school, home, work or in life. Students have described the day as one of the best days of their time here, and some subtle changes were seen on campus in the time after, with people greeting each other, even hugging each other, who had never really crossed paths before. 

Warriors #winning
Both the Volleyball teams and the Varsity Football team scored victories this week, with VB defeating Mt Diablo, and Varsity FB taking down De Anza High School. Our Marching Band, led by Drum Major Claire Rader, also took home a victory, earning a solid 2nd place for both the Marching Band and Color Guard. It should be noted that after a long 12 year absence, this is the 2nd year that the Marching Band has been back at our home football games, pepping up the crowd and bringing the atmosphere to a new level, and it has been an incredible and welcome re-addition. Thank you to our outstanding band director Zach Pattison for bringing back the tradition! 

See Marching Band HERE- youtu.be/-uW2mfrHzK4?a

See Drumline HERE- youtu.be/XSjMrc_ZCHU?a

The stadium got a great upgrade as well, through a generous donor, with brand new 100 foot banners all around including "Welcome to Warrior Country", "Ygnacio Valley High School" and "Welcome to the Jungle" 
Congrats and thank you to our Athletic Director Mark Tran for raising the playing field literally with the new look! 

After an 8 year dry spell, the Varsity Cheerleaders competed for the first time in a USA Cheer competition this weekend in Santa Cruz. The Warriors looked sharp in their performance, hitting stunts and keeping the choreography tight. They took 4th place in their division, and won a bid to Nationals! We look forward to a new competitive era for cheer, and congratulations to coach Ashley Alvarez, serving in her 3rd year for the Warriors! 

Warriors Remember
Last week the YV Community came together to withstand the pain of tragedy, as it was learned that YV Grad Ignacio 'Junior' Avila ("Nacho") passed away from injuries sustained the week before in a confrontation. Junior was a football player for the Warriors (#78) and a wrestler, and was training for the Marine Corps. He is remembered as a sweet, giving and loyal individual with friends who call him "family" and a heart of gold. He will be greatly missed by those who knew him and by the YV community. Coach Puentes, the coaching and athletic training staff,  and the Varsity Football team honored Junior with decals for their helmets and equipment that read "JR 78" that they will wear the rest of the season in honor of our fallen Warrior. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends in this sad time. 

Welcome Back Week

WELCOME BACK WEEK

Sept 8-12

This was the first full week of school and classes, and Warriors spent the week showing their Warrior Pride with spirit days, music lunchtimes, and getting ready for Friday's ASB Welcome Back Rally. 

CRAZY HAIR DAY with the STAFF

Welcome Back Rally
With the theme of 'Game Shows', the ASB class took the rally and made a great event for the Warriors to get excited about the year with. Highlights included a minute to win it game between Freshmen and Sophomores, where our 9th grader showed us how to quickly and efficiently unroll toilet paper, easily taking the victory from the Sophomores. The Seniors and Juniors competed in a So You Think You Can Dance competition, where they had to test their knowledge on how to do the Dougie, the Wobble, the Bernie, and more... 

Dance 3 closed the rally with their performance inspired by Dancing with the Stars, doing the Jive and the Samba. 

 
First Cross Country Meet for the Warriors
 The Warriors converged on Newhall Park to compete in their first meet this season, coached by Elizabeth Frazier. The number one runner for the Warriors was sophomore Jacob Samuels, seen below in the middle with teammates Sophomore Grant Kamita and Senior Andrew Hayes. Congratulations Warriors on a strong finish! 

AND TAKING THE NUT- The WARRIOR MARCHING BAND!
The Golden Warrior marching band competed at the Walnut Festival this weekend, and  the Warriors TOOK THE TITLE!! Led by Zach Pattison, in his Second Year as a Warrior, the Marching band AND the Color Guard both took home the Championship Nut- See their celebration HERE- Congratulations Warriors!!

Golden Warrior Marching Band at the Walnut Festival

Class of 1974 Meets for their 40th Reunion! 
 

ALWAYS A WARRIOR