Ramping up in May

Warrior Weekly

May 19, 2014

 

 As May marches on, May ramps up with events and celebrations for the end of the year. Here's what has been going on in Warrior Land for the last couple of weeks. 

YVHS Swing Dance!

The Jazz Band’s long hours were not wasted Friday night in the YVHS Annual Swing Dance. With a bunch of old timey swing tunes, slow songs, and plenty of swing dance experience, the energy was high and the Jazz was great. (Who are we kidding? Jazz is always great.) Special thanks to the YV Jazz Ensemble for putting in so much work to supply the dance with a great two hours of music! Can’t wait for next year’s dance!

Senior Game for Lacrosse Ends in a Great Win

With the final home game for the Girls Lacrosse team, the seniors were eager to score big for their final home crowd! And they did just that, winning the game against Alhambra 11-6! Congrats to the team for giving the crowd a great game to watch! To the seniors, you will be missed next season! Great job Warriors!

Boy’s Baseball Win feeds NCS Hopes

The YV Baseball hoisted a whopping win over the Mount Diablo Baseball team, 9-1. With this win, the boys had hoped to increase their chances in being selected for the upcoming NCS Playoffs. Nineteen teams competed for sixteen spots, and unfortunately, the Warrior season ends on that win, as they will not be advancing. Congratulations to the team on a great season, and to coach Sean Morrison on another respectable finish. 

Vincent Ly Awarded John Muir Scholarship

Congratulations to Senior Vincent Ly for being awarded a $4000 scholarship by John Muir Medical Center! Vincent volunteers at the Medical Center, and is a senior in our health academy, volunteering hundreds of hours for our athletes as part of the sports medicine program as well. He will be using that money to help subsidize his education pursuits next year at UC Irvine. Go Anteaters!

 

Room 509 Quilt

Room 509 is a Special Needs class. Our main teacher, Mrs. Hepner-Martinez, broke her wrist in January and we have missed her dearly. The class decided to make a quilt for  her as a Math problem. They worked on it for two weeks in April during math class, with the students learning how to sew by hand iron + sew a button on; all life skills. Each student decorated a 10x10 square with hand prints or a family crest. The staff bound it together during spring break. We are very proud of the finished product + we hope she loves it.

Multi Cultural Show

The CARES After School Program put on an outstanding multicultural show last Friday, featuring dances in the latin genre, Middle Eastern dances, Tahitian and Polynesian dancing, and more. The turnout and support were great, and YV's multiculturalism was celebrated well. 

Rossmoor Scholarship Winners

This year, Ygnacio Valley had more Rossmoor honorees than any other high school in the area, with a whopping 8 students receiving scholarships from the generous organization. 

The students and Mrs. Santos, our College and Career Advisor, attended the Rossmoor Scholarship Foundation awards ceremony last Sunday and each student received $3000 or more in scholarship funds. The recipients were Marissa Sozzi, Annalisa Romero, Isabella Romero, Daniel Pardo, Stephanie Martinez, Daipeng Yang, Vincent Ly, Jennifer Ly and Stephanie Martinez. Congratulations Warriors! 

Two Warriors Honored by the Contra Costa County Office of Education with Scholarships and Awards
Two YV students were given $250 scholarships from the CCCOE for their excellence in their respective ROP programs. Malena Martinez was honored for her contribution in ROP Sports Medicine, having volunteered more than 100 hours to our YV sports teams and competing at the State Leadership Conference for Sports Medicine. Eddie Maldonado was honored for ROP Teaching, after serving an internship his senior year for Cambridge Elementary School.
Congratulations Warriors!

A Walk on the Moon - 2014 Junior/Senior Prom

A great time was had by all this year at the Prom, where students took Charter buses to the Chabot Science Center in the Oakland Hills. The venue was beautiful, and the dresses were gorgeous. Congratulations and thank you to Ms. Stobing and the ASB Leadership Senior Class Officers for putting on this wonderful event! 

YV Warrior Sarah Jones Earns 5th in the Nation Title with Club Rugby

YV Sophomore Sarah Jones competed with her Club Rugby team and the team is now ranked 5th in the Nation! Congratulations to the Jones family! 

Back in the Swing- May Begins!

Back in the Swing- Just in time! 

So much to catch up on, it has been a busy couple of weeks in Warrior-land! 

Here's what's been happening... 

Speaking of Swing... 

The Warrior Jazz Band is hosting their annual Swing Dance this Friday May 9th in the MU! Proceeds from this event will help the Warriors in their quest to get to New Orleans next year- come hear some great music and get your boogie on! 

 

Blood Drive a Success

Warriors again step up to the plate for a great cause and donated their arm for an hour, but their blood for a life... 48 to be exact. 

Ribbon Cutting on New chemistry Labs

KRON 4 came out to do a news report and Warriors celebrated as we opened our state of the art Chemistry labs with our Superintendent Dr. Nellie Mayer, Parents, Students, Teachers and Alumni coming out to support. The new labs feature state of the art equipment, SMART Boards, and all of the chemically safe cabinetry you would find at a college level lab setting. We are proud to open this wing of the school and look forward to some great hands-on learning to take place there! 

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Warrior 9th Grader Honored by County

 National College Signing Day
Seniors were invited to come out and "sign" their letter of intent on National College Signing Day May 1st, declaring their schools of choice- these included University of Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, UC Davis, Berkeley, Columbia College in Chicago, BYU, University of Nevada Reno, Cal Poly, and of course DVC- Students celebrated their exciting prospects and proudly wore their future school colors.

Warrior Bands go to CMEA - California Music Education Association Festival
Our Wind Ensemble and Orchestra both competed at the annual festival and came back with accolades in all categories, including Wind Ensemble earning 'Excellent' ratings in concert, and a 'Superior' rating in Sight Reading.
Congratulations Warriors!

Carolyn Moore Opens a Display
Our own resident photography teacher opened up a new display of her own at the StudioOne Art Center landscape show. Congratulations Carolyn!

 

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
-Christine Lee, Class of 2002

Christine Lee, Pharm.D.; Class of 2002

What was your Major in College or What did you study after high school?  Technically I did not have a major because I did not get a bachelor's degree. I was assigned "pre-pharmacy" when I went to college, and then was accepted directly into pharmacy school where I earned my Doctor of Pharmacy degree, or Pharm.D. 

What is your current work and why do you love it? I am currently an inpatient pharmacist and I love it because I help people every day!  

What advice do you have for YV students today? My advice to YV students would be to develop good study habits early. Yes, high school is a time to have fun and be social, but working hard now can provide opportunities for your future (I was accepted into the accelerated pre-pharmacy advantage program and received a $20,000 scholarship based on my grades in high school). Also, if you think you may be interested in a particular field, find ways to connect with people who work in that area and ask them whatever questions you have to see if it is something that you wish to pursue.  I personally cannot think of things I wasn't ready for, but from sharing some of my friend's experiences they were not ready for the freedom that comes with being a college student (no curfews, parties, availability of alcohol and drugs) and they got so distracted from their studies that they dropped out and never finished. I would encourage students to be prepared for these kinds of pressures and not allow them to detract from the end goal.  

What were your favorite classes at YV? There were many classes in high school that I enjoyed - the sciences especially: physics, physiology, and chemistry. My favorite elective was definitely drama.  

How were you involved with the school when you were here? In high school I was involved in marching band, honor choir, plays and musicals, the Christian club, cross country, and others. None of these prepared me for my chosen field, but I feel these extra curricular activities helped develop me into a well-rounded person. I think it's important to gain a variety of experiences and also make time for activities that you enjoy. It helps keep you sane when work is crazy!