Students of the MONTH

Monday, February 24, 2014

Winter Ending, Spring is on its way!

Warrior Good News 
February 24

It's been a couple of weeks of winding down here in Warrior land, as most Winter sports came to a close and the spring sports began training. We had some great moments these two weeks, so let's review! 
THE LOVE SHOW
On February 13, Dance, Drama and Madrigals got together to perform in the name of Love. The Mads started us off with some great songs about the beginnings and sweetness of love, while the drama club put together a wonderful one-act play called "Why do We Laugh" which follows a couple from the time they are 5 years old to when they are 65. Dance finished off following natural arcs of love, from flirting to frustration. It was a fun show, and the photography class added great ambience with some incredible pieces also within the them of the big heart matters. What a great collaboration! 
Mad Men singing "So In Love"
COLOR ME WILD- BLACK LIGHT RALLY!
ASB Leadership put on their annual winter rally, and brought back the black lights for the occasion. Students were decked in white shirts, glow paint, and glow sticks, and the rally was a successful celebration for the school. Some highlights included an outstanding glowing cheer performance complete with a 5 stunt pyramid and a dance 3 performance that highlighted different body parts throughout the piece. Great job to the ASB Leadership class! 
JV and Varsity Cheer at the Blacklight Rally
Watch the Dance Performance on YouTube HERE

SOCCER PLAYOFFS
Our boys soccer team finished the season as DVAL champions, which gave them an automatic berth to the NCS playoffs. They began play on Wednesday against the Alhambra Bulldogs, and they finished the game with a 1-0 win over the Martinez neighbors. The second round (quarterfinals) was played Saturday at YV vs Saint Mary's High School, and the Warriors marched to an easy victory of 4-1. Semi-finals will be played at Ygnacio Valley on Wednesday at 3:30pm. Don't miss these Warriors play! 
Boys Soccer led by coaches Cesar Chavez, Bijan Sadeghy and Rocky Gaglioti (all YV alums)
TUPE TRAINING FOR PEER MENTORING
On Friday, several of our students went to a district training to become peer mentors in YV's efforts to stamp out smoking. They were shown lungs affected by smoke, and were educated on all of the latest products and their harms including hooka and e-cigarettes. The students are ready to step up to the plate and bring their new knowledge back to the school. 
TUPE peer mentors ready to tackle the world.
BASEBALL WINS THEIR FIRST
Baseball played their first game last week, and ran to a victory to start their season off. Great job Warriors! We are looking forward to a great season! 
Jacob Samuels (9th grade) with his first career hit for the Warriors

Monday, February 10, 2014

What a Showcase for the WARRIORS!



Warrior Weekly
February 7, 2014
by Devin Rader

This has been an outstanding week at YVHS, with so many programs shining, it is hard to keep up! 
 
Open House Showcase!
Thursday February 7 was our annual Open House for Ygnacio Valley High School! Parents and students of YV and also the surrounding middle schools were invited to see what kind of teachers, clubs and programs were being offered at YV. In the Multi Use room, we had our performing arts department, featuring our Jazz Band, Guitar, Madrigals, Improv Team, and Dance programs, with a preview special number from this year’s musical, Legally Blonde. We also had an outstanding poet read her work in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Keosha Figg is part of the After School Program, and she brought the room to reflection begging teenagers of color to think before they act, reflecting on what Dr. King meant about his dream. There was a fabulous art walk by the fine arts department as well featuring photo, standard art, and ceramics. If you didn’t attend the arts showcase, you were free to roam the school, talking to teachers and visiting various departments. It was a great night and the students and parents got a very good chance to learn about the school and the faculty.





Comedy Show
On Friday, the YV Music Boosters were able to bring in a professional Improv team! These Act-letes, as they preferred to be called, put on a wacky show that had everyone clutching their stomachs because they were laughing so hard. The boosters were able to raise a lot of money to provide for the instrumental music program. This was a big step in the right direction, because the music program is looking at going on their annual band trip next month down to Disneyland! Way to go Band Moms!



Boys Soccer Clinches NCS Berth
Yes you heard right! Ygnacio Valley’s Boys Soccer team are LEAGUE CHAMPIONS and on their way to NCS for the third year in a row. The first three-peat in school history! Way to go Warriors! Looking forward to many watching your climb in the NCS Championship! Congratulations to our coaches, Rocky Gagliotti, Bijan Sadeghy, and Head Coach Cesar Chavez. What a legacy you are building! 
Photo courtesy of Max Preps



Hamlet for Health Academy
Friday, our Health Academy program went to see Hamlet, performed by the Diablo Valley College Theater department! With many of the senior class reading Hamlet, seeing it on stage is a very big bonus to understanding the story and how it is written. DVC took a fresh take on the play, interpreting it a bit differently than convention has called in the past, bringing Hamlet to his knees with the question of whether his was a fall into madness and paranoia, or if his uncle was actually to blame for the King's death... It was a wonderful interpretation, and really brought the work of Shakespeare to life for the seniors.  


Leadership Development Day
On Thursday, our award winning ASB Leadership program hosted over 300 middle school students for a Leadership Development Day. Our Warriors helped facilitate the middle school leaders in a variety of activities to increase their understanding of the great responsibility they have to increase participation on campus, to provide for safe and positive outlets to the student body, and to represent their schools positively at all times. What great examples our own ASB class provide, and it was a successful day for all.  




Love Show!
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, it’s time to share the love with the annual Love Show! This is an important fundraiser for our Spring Musical, and features performances from the Madrigals, Dance, Drama, and Guitar, and a fantastic art walk gallery display by our Fine Arts department, you don’t want to miss out on this exciting event! The show will be next Thursday 7:30pm. Bring your "person of interest" and enjoy the show! 

Ongoing Fundraiser at Sports Basement
Don't forget to mention Ygnacio Valley High School when you shop at Sports Basement - you get 10% off your purchase and YVHS will also get 5% back! 

Monday, February 3, 2014

Second Semester... In Spring?

It was an unusually warm start to our second semester, with short sleeves making a comeback and students basking in the sun...

High Five Everyone! 
The staff have started a new recognition system, they're giving high fives! Around the school these handprints will be put up throughout the rest of the year, for students getting recognized by staff for a number of things, including attendance, behavior, effort and improvement. Students earning the high five awards will be put into a drawing each month for different prizes, including lunch with the Principal, and donated items like Warrior gear, sports bags, mp3 players, etc. 


YVHS hosts their 8th Annual Noche Universitaria En Espanol
The Warriors hosted an all-Spanish College Night for Spanish Speaking families, with over 150 people in attendance. Information was presented from several universities, and our Puente program was able to work on recruiting students and laying out the program benefits as well. Congrats to Ms Socorro Lomas and all who put this great event together! 



Performing Arts on a Roll
The Legally Blonde rehearsals have begun! The cast is excited and energetic and working on a very quick time schedule to get this monster show off the ground! With Mr. Carter at the helm of music direction, cast learned hard harmonies all week to get the pop-style soundtrack to come alive. Watch for more progress to come! Elle Woods is to be played by McKenna Duncan (11th grade), Warner Huntington III will be played by Senior Matt Boer, and Emmett Forrest is to be played by Senior Devin Rader. OMG you guys!!


Junior Rachel Gephart has been serving as a technical crew member for YV productions for 3 years now, and she just started an internship with the Lesher Center tech staff as a lighting design assistant! Lighting Designer David Lam has taken Rachel under his wing for the Diablo Theater Company production of Guys and Dolls, set to open on February 7th, and Rachel has been in the booth learning Gobos, lighting cues, programming, and more. Great job Rachel! 


Our own Performing Arts Director, Kelly Cooper, has one more weekend dancing in the PCRT production of 'A Chorus Line', closing Sunday February 9th at the Pleasanton Firehouse. The show has been receiving fantastic reviews, and Ms. Cooper has had a blast being back on stage and looks forward to doing another show soon! See it while you can! www.pcrtproductions.org


Donors Choose Projects- Warriors Need YOU!!
There are several projects that teachers have on donors choose and we wanted to highlight them here, spread the word, and try to get these projects funded! 

Mr. Larios- Ceramics- The ceramics lab needs a new kiln. They have an old one but there are many issues and it won't last too long. 
To donate click HERE!

Mrs. Fletcher- Physiology- She is seeking a new hands on skeleton to help teach anatomy- this project will only be up for 25 more days! 

To donate CLICK HERE!

Ms Cooper- Renaissance- The class needs supplies as we have no operating budget- we need paper and paints to get ready for the spring WOW assembly. 
To Donate Click HERE!

Ms. Addiego- Math- Need Common Core Lab learning supplies!

To Donate Click HERE

Ms.Conover- Trail Access Program- Needs Ink for printed materials for students with visual learning needs! 

To Donate Click Here! 

Music Boosters Host a Comedy Night! 

Ygnacio Valley Music Boosters is hosting Comedy Sportz- A PROFESSIONAL IMPROV TROUPE
Comedy, Cookies, and Cakes
Friday Feb. 7, 7:30pm

         Comedy Sportz is a live, family friendly professional performance. For the ticket price of only $15 per person you can enjoy the award winning interactive comedy show where two teams of "act-letes" improvise scenes for audience laughs and points.  We will have goodies, coffee, and water, all for just $1 per item.
For tickets email ygnaciomusic@gmail.com. or use the order form that will be in the office mailboxes tomorrow, Jan. 30.

 This link will take you to a video that will show you how fun Comedy Sportz is http://vimeo.com/28531209.
 
Please join us for an evening of laughs, while supporting our music program.