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.