By Elizabeth Gillingham

Educators of the Year

Congratulations to vice principals Bill Miller and Jennifer Pacofsky for being recognized at the California League of High School awards banquet for their service and hard work!

They were noted for the many hours of extra service given to the students at Henry in spite of budget cuts and a loss of support staff to help them do their jobs. They are both dedicated vice principals who care about the students and do their best to help them whenever possible.

In addition, science teacher Autumn Flores was also recognized as an Educator of the Year finalist. She was selected for her commitment to serve her students both in the classroom and as an ASB advisor. Her dedication in creating lessons that are creative, supportive of the new science standards, and provide real world experiences puts her ahead of many science teachers across the country. She has been selected to travel abroad through science teaching experiences over the summer to further promote and improve her practice.

Congratulations to Jen, Bill, and Autumn for all you do at Henry!

Drum Corp International selects a Henry student

Ian Lovewell, a ninth-grade seminar student, has been auditioning for the Drum Corps International (DCI) and over the break he made the final cut and was accepted.

He described the audition process, which included two back-to-back days of 12-hour tryouts, both in San Diego and Los Angeles, over two different weekends.

Ian is excited tour the country this summer competing in the corps. He’s really proud of making the team and will certainly learn a lot through his travels.

In an interview Ian stated, “I’m most excited to experience marching around the country, performing to large audiences, and meeting new people.”

Students will be marching through many locations and venues from June through August while showcasing the best of marching music from coast to coast. The 2019 DCI team will feature more than 70 drum corps and SoundSport teams participating in 108 different competitive events in 35 states. Congratulations, Ian!

New head football coach

After concluding a search that included 28 applicants from San Diego, Arizona, Oregon, Hawaii, and Northern California, we were able to find a head coach that we are all excited for as we bring PHHS Patriot Football to a new era!

We are proud to introduce JT O’Sullivan as our new head football coach. He is very excited to get started right away.

O’Sullivan has spent over 15 years in athletics and education. He was an NFL quarterback for nearly a decade. Drafted by the Saints in the sixth round in 2002, he eventually played for 11 NFL organizations and played in NFL Europe and CFL.

After retiring from the NFL, O’Sullivan transitioned into intercollegiate athletics administration at the University of San Diego (USD) and San Diego State University where he worked in strategic planning, event management, facilities, operations, compliance, and development. O’Sullivan has also volunteered as a football coach at Southwestern College. In addition, he is an experienced speaker and has spoken to numerous camps, youth groups, high schools, intercollegiate athletics departments, and military groups.

As a student-athlete, O’Sullivan was a two-time team captain, MVP, and most inspirational player at UC Davis. He is also a member of the UC Davis Athletics Hall of Fame and was named the young alumnus of the year. O’Sullivan earned his bachelor’s degree from UC Davis before receiving his Ph.D. in leadership studies from USD. His diverse background includes teaching leadership, organizational development, and fundraising courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

O’Sullivan has called San Diego home since 2004. He and his wife Laura have three sons Jack (8), Larkin (5), and Davis (3).

O’Sullivan’s testimonials from his colleagues in sports and education highlight why PHHS is excited to have him coach the Patriots:

“After spending thousands of hours with him in quarterback meetings, I can tell you first-hand that he is an exceptional teacher and leader.”

– Adam Gase, Miami Dolphins head coach

“JT has some very special qualities. I found his knowledge of the game to be at a coach’s level when he was a player. His preparation always exceeded expectations. His character is beyond reproach. The best compliment I can give him is if I had a son or grandson playing football… I would want him playing for JT. Character, knowledge, organization skills and leadership are all the qualities JT has at the highest level. He is simply a winner and leader.”

– Mike Martz, head coach of the San Diego Fleet and former St. Louis Rams head coach

“Now as a retired NFL player, a husband, dad, and educational professional, JT is proving to be an amazing person. He is just as passionate as always, but he has the quality life-experience that makes him unique. JT still attacks life — that is JT — but he has also gained extraordinary wisdom through the years. He works great with people. He is a great communicator. He has unparalleled integrity — and he cares.”

– Mike Moroski, College of Idaho head football coach

‘Addam’s Family Musical’

“They’re creepy and they’re kooky

Mysterious and spooky

They’re all together ooky

The Addams family!”

“The Addams Family” is a fictional household created by American cartoonist Charles Addams and includes characters that are hard to forget. Come meet Gomez and Morticia Addams, their children Wednesday and Pugsley, close family members Uncle Fester and Grandmama, their butler Lurch, the disembodied hand fondly known as Thing, and Gomez’s Cousin Itt!

The Addamses are a satirical version of the ideal 20th-century American family: an odd, wealthy, aristocratic clan who delight in the macabre and are seemingly unaware, or do not care, that other people find them bizarre or frightening.

“The Addams Family” TV show debuted in 1964 and aired for two seasons. The musical was later written and performed on a live theater in Chicago 2009 and made its way to Broadway the following year.

PHHS is excited to bring this Broadway musical comedy to life in PHAME this February. The evening show begins on Thursday, Feb 21, and runs through Saturday, Feb 23., at 6 p.m.; and there will be a matinee performance on Sunday, Feb. 24, at 2 p.m. All performances will be held in PHAME! The cost for each ticket is $10 for any of the performances listed.

Student of the Month

Patrick Henry High School (PHHS) is proud to name Angelo Salazar our Student of the Month for January. Angelo was honored during the Grantville/Allied Garden Kiwanis Club meeting last month by Vice Principal Bill Miller and his family who attended the breakfast.

Angelo was nominated by several teachers from many different areas of expertise. He was noted for being a peer mediator, captain on the football team, and a great all-around student.

His AP English teacher stated, “He has worked very diligently on improving his writing skills this year by signing up for conference after conference, working ahead of schedule, and committing time and effort.”

A former English teacher of his stated, “Angelo Salazar is worthy of this honor. He’s academically enthusiastic, intellectually curious, and empathetic. I love this kid!”

Staff members who have worked with him outside of the classroom stated, “He’s one of the most complete kids that I’ve come across, ever! Angelo is the type of kid that makes Henry a great school. He 100 percent deserves this!”

And finally, a club advisor stated, “Angelo is a Circle of Friends officer who is consistent, reliable, one of the nicest students I have ever met.”

Angelo has been given a Congressional Recognition that helped support his application to West Point Military School where he’ll be attending. His successes has made everyone at PHHS very proud and we’re excited to see what he can do after he leaves Henry!

—Elizabeth Gillingham is principal of Patrick Henry High School.

By Elizabeth Gillingham

PHHS Teacher of the Year

Rick Budzynski was selected by the PHHS staff as this year’s San Diego Unified Teacher of the Year for the 2019-2020 school year. Mr. B, as he is fondly referred to, teaches math at Henry and has actually served the Henry Cluster in two capacities. He started his career at Pershing Middle School and later transferred to De Portola Middle School in Tierrasanta. He returned to the community in 2015 at Henry, where we hope he has finally found his home.

After one year, Mr. B added coaching roller hockey to his repertoire by helping establish a team that has been very successful for the last three years. Students love sitting in class with Budzynski because he is passionate about teaching and cares to see them find success. He makes a point to get everyone active and often has them demonstrating their learning through hands-on activities that connect to the real world.

According to Henry teacher Greg Chronopolos who works with Budzynski: “Rick has a sign on his wall ‘No Excuses.’ To his credit, he takes away student excuses to why they might fail his class. He provides every opportunity imaginable to promote student success. Like most math teachers, he wants things done a certain way. There is quite often a six-week (or more) grace period to allow the kids to learn the proper procedure. He provides students notebooks for their daily work and pencils for the forgetful freshmen. He has a liberal ‘turn-in late’ policy. He tutors, he calls parents, he emails study material home before tests. Rick can relate to any kid from every background and make ‘that’ connection. He’s not all warm and fuzzy, but he’s also not fake, he plays it straight. Kids respect him and they produce for him.”

We are thrilled to have Rick Budzynski serve as our Teacher of the Year for 2020!

Students play at Symphony Hall

Congratulations to the 10 PHHS music students who were selected by audition and performed in the San Diego Unified High School Instrumental Honor Concert last month in Symphony Hall! The students were:

Honor Orchestra: John Segovia, violin; Kellie Formanek, cello; Matthew Thomas, principal bass.

Honor Band: Ava Calbreath, clarinet; Matthew Dollman, alto saxophone; Andrea Arend, principal tenor saxophone; Sam Capron, tenor saxophone; Christian Florendo, trumpet; Ethan Ackland, principal percussion; Ivan Melero, percussion.

Percussionist Ethan Ackland performed in both groups. It is especially impressive that three PHHS students are in the top positions (principal) on their instruments.

Engineering teacher selected for educator award

PHHS engineering teacher extraordinaire, Adria Van Loan, was selected by the San Diego County Engineering Council (SDCEC), as the winner of the prestigious Outstanding K-12 Engineering Educator Award for 2018. The awards ceremony was held on Friday, Feb. 22 at the National Engineering Week awards banquet at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in San Diego.

Van Loan started at PHHS as a math teacher and later joined the engineering department. She quickly showed great promise by taking the lead with our robotics program, which took a team to Houston in the third year of existence.

New physical education, old teacher

[Editor’s note: written by PHHS PE teacher Terri Clark]

January was Human Trafficking Awareness Month across our country. And thankfully, Assembly Bill 1227 was signed into law by Gov. Brown on Oct. 7, 2017. This law requires California public schools to provide human trafficking prevention education to students and educators in order to reduce the vulnerability of our youth and to prevent future victimization. California schools are now required to provide instruction on all forms of human trafficking in comprehensive sexual education at least once in middle school and once in high school. In the public school arena, this is also known as Commercial and Sexual Exploitation of Children, or CSEC.

Human trafficking occurs every day. San Diego is one of three top hot spots in California for human trafficking along with Los Angeles and San Francisco. This fact alone should be enough to move the needle forward in education around the subject of human trafficking. Thanks to AB 1227, we now have a way to move that needle — we have mandates in place that require human trafficking education for every student in California. Prevention is paramount in stopping the recruitment of our youth.

What does mandated education look like in a school setting? With the newly adopted curriculum for San Diego Unified School District, it looks like this: teacher training first, then student education next. The curriculum adopted by San Diego Unified School District is a multifaceted approach that uses two curriculums and layers them together: Protect, through 3-Strands Global and “kNOw MORE,” through Point Loma Nazarene University’s Center for Justice and Reconciliation. Together both of these projects bring students to the heart of the human trafficking issue by addressing topics such as true choice, supply and demand, and child pornography. It also educates students by teaching them to identify the origins, symptoms and signs of human trafficking in their communities and beyond.

The need for this education across the grade levels is best validated by the following statistics: There are 40 million victims of modern day slavery worldwide. There are at least 100,000 victims of human trafficking across America (more than Qualcomm Stadium could hold if it were filled to capacity). Human trafficking is a $150 billion global industry and the fastest growing criminal enterprise. Ten million children worldwide are exploited in the global sex trade. And furthermore, 81 percent of victims are trapped in forced labor, 75 percent of victims are female, and 25 percent of victims are children. These statistics — from 3-Strands Global, PLNU Center for Justice and Reconciliation — are staggering and serve as a catalyst for change, helping our students learn to safely navigate the world they live in.

Our physical education ninth-grade team took on the challenge of this new curriculum and brought it to all freshman at Patrick Henry High School in January. Two of the lessons were a traditional classroom lesson model packed with not only the statistics highlighted above, but with tools students can use to spot the signs, learn the language, and be an upstander instead of a bystander when they see a potential red flag. The final lesson was a dramatic and engaging drama titled kNOw MORE, where students were encouraged to participate, dialogue with peers and practice the strategies of prevention and awareness. Upon completion of the unit, all students were given a tip card that has information and important hotline numbers when they suspect someone might be in danger.

As someone who has been teaching for 20-plus years, it continues to be my privilege to bring education to students than can not only be life-changing, but life-saving. Our world continues to change, evolve and require new skills and knowledge to navigate it. As the role of a physical educator has evolved, I keep moving forward in hopes of producing students who are physically literate about the world they live in. You can follow me on Twitter: teachingthemasses.

JROTC Academic Bowl 2019

[Editor’s note: Written by PHHS student Jonny Phan, SDUSD JROTC Brigade public affairs officer]

Normally in the year, we like to start off our first Brigade competition with some intensive drill. This year, however, we began our season with a showdown between all JROTC Academic teams. Jan. 12 marked the annual SDUSD JROTC Brigade Academic Bowl, where competitors from all 13 schools across the San Diego Unified School District gathered to compete at Patrick Henry High School.

Competitors have practiced and competed in preliminary rounds all school year in order to prepare for this highly anticipated event. Each team consists of the unit’s top four scholars, collaborating and buzzing in to answer questions pertaining to a variety of academic disciplines. Within each round, a moderator will give questions covering topics from either science, history, literature, or mathematics. Some specific topics also include pop culture, sports, and political slang.

“I have to say my favorite topics were about government and politics,” said c/LTC Krista Peterson, academic team commander from Kearny High School. “I think it really motivates cadets to educate themselves on matters that almost directly affect their lives.”

After three compelling rounds of competing back to back, the top four schools were narrowed down to compete for the Academic Bowl Championship Finals. As a result, the final round was headed by Point Loma NJROTC ending in fourth place, Serra NJROTC in third place, Scripps Ranch AFJROTC in second place, and Patrick Henry NJROTC as the first-place winner. Where every correct answer awards either five or 10 points, Patrick Henry impressively dominated with a total of 175 points, which was at least 85 points higher than the rest of the other competitors.

On June 21, some teams will be anticipating on qualifying for the JLAB Championship — JROTC Academic Bowl on the national level — hosted in Washington, D.C. As Joint Brigade, we are proud to hold the Academic Bowl every year since it fosters essential aspects of teamwork and camaraderie among cadets. Despite the competitiveness where every team has no hesitation to show off their vast knowledge, battles are friendly, and cadets can appreciate what they have trained and studied for all year.

Special acknowledgments to c/MAJ Dicker, Evan (J-1) for maintaining the Academic Bowl, spending all year long to create hundreds of questions for every Academic Bowl round leading up to the championship finals. A big thank you to Patrick Henry’s volunteers for diligently working to guide teams around campus and making sure that the event ran smoothly as well!

Student of the Month

Jonna Carey is a senior at Henry who represents everything that makes working in a high school worthwhile. She was selected as our Kiwanis Student of the Month for February because she inspires everyone through her story of hard work, perseverance, dedication, commitment to family, and love of making a difference on anything she decides to do.

Carey is currently performing with a GPA of 4.3 and seeking admission to colleges such as Stanford, UCLA, and UC Berkley to name a few. She is considering pursuing a career in medicine or in science as she is interested in the environment and likes the idea of studying and changing the way people think.

Carey shows a strong commitment to her education by never wanting to cut corners in the way she approaches her learning and will stay up late to get her work done on time, no excuses. Henry English teacher Valerie Crawford describes Carey as “optimistic, creative and dedicated.”

Crawford also wrote in Carey’s college letter of recommendation: “Through her work with athletics here at Henry, Jonna has gained leadership experience and hopes to use that to her advantage in her collegiate endeavors. As her English language arts teacher twice over, I have had the pleasure to watch her reach to better her work and the world around her. I have even seen her helping other students with their work when they have difficulty. She is an inspiration for others to follow. Jonna is a giving person, who puts others before herself. She holds down a job as a photo booth operator, volunteers many hours for Key Club International, and has become a true part of Henry High. She is a true leader.”

Carey is unique in that she has earned two CIF Championship patches both in tennis this year and badminton last year. She hopes to earn a third patch with the badminton team for the season coming up again this year. Carey is also on our ASB serving as a student leader to help make Henry a better place. She has made her mark at Henry as a senior as she impresses everyone she meets with her positive and caring attitude.

— Elizabeth Gillingham is principal of Patrick Henry High School.

PHHS Student of the Month

Nhi Nguyen was selected as our Kiwani’s student of the month for March for many amazing reasons and was honored by attending the breakfast with our vice principal, Jennifer Pacofsky.

Teachers describe Nguyen as being a class act. She is brilliantly smart, but is very humble and treats others around her with respect and kindness. She’s incredibly talented with her writing and a great artist. She’s very well spoken, thoughtful, and would help anyone in need.

Nguyen has made the last two videos for our school’s Henry Hoopla and they have been artistically pleasing and motivating to both students and teachers. Her professionally edited videos have reinforced our messages of the power of identity, growth, grit, collaboration, and inspiration. In this process, she has dedicated countless hours of hard work, has collaborated intelligently with staff and students, and has created a lasting and powerful impact on the student body at Henry.

Her English teacher stated that, “Not all super smart chemistry and engineering whizzes are also funny. Nhi has, from her time as a freshman, been adept at writing with humor and wit — something I’ve appreciated along with her other wonderful qualities.”

Nguyen has been accepted to both UCSD and UC Berkley for the fall. Both of them will be lucky to have her and we can’t wait to see how she impacts the world.

San Diego Opera debuts in PHAME!

“Three Decembers” was the latest in San Diego Opera’s popular detour series of nontraditional operas offered in new venues across the city. After close to a year of planning, Patrick Henry High School was selected to host an opera and it proved to be up to the challenge both acoustically and aesthetically for everyone who was involved.

PHHS instrumental chairperson and teacher Matthew Kalal was thrilled to form this partnership as he saw it as a win-win for both the school and San Diego. Students had a unique learning opportunity to see the behind-the-scenes set-up for a professional opera as they shadowed various members of the cast, production crew, and watched the musicians involved as well.

“It’s been an amazing experience,” Kalal said in an interview with KPBS. “Just the last couple days, like this afternoon, I had the advanced choir class, I talked to the stage manager and arranged to have them watch part of the rehearsal between the orchestra and the singers and then I asked, ‘Hey, is it possible after they get done with the rehearsal …,’ and they were so nice — all three singers came and talked with them and it was thrilling. It was the kind of thing that gets kids excited about it.”

Laurels for Leaders luncheon

Washington-Lincoln Laurels for Leaders was established in 1957 as a way of honoring and recognizing the achievements of ASB presidents of San Diego County high schools. Laurels founder Dr. Frank Lowe, then-president of the San Diego Unified School District, believed that such recognition would encourage a lifelong commitment to service among the student leaders. PHHS’s ASB leader Chris Stagner attended this luncheon held at San Diego State University last month with his ASB advisor Autumn Ross and Principal Listy Gillingham.

PHHS art students help at Green Elementary

PHHS teacher Karen Thomas and several of her AP art history students accepted a special invitation last month from Green Elementary Principal Sandy McClure to help inspire the elementary students with how to create art chalk drawings.

Henry students volunteered on a Sunday by spending a day to recreate some samples for the students to view and then broke into teams the next day to work with various student groups sharing their knowledge and passion of art history.

The students started with an explanation and walk to view the chalk art done by the Henry students, which included a few historical paintings such as “The Scream” by Edvard Munch. Afterward, the students all got their individual circles to use to create their original chalk paintings.

Green teacher, Sharon Henry, reported in a letter to the Henry principal, “Huge shout out to the wonderful AP art history students who mesmerized the children at Green Elementary. It was a pleasure to watch the high school students share their knowledge and passion with these inquisitive youngsters. The Henry students were articulate, knowledgeable and had positive energy while sharing their passion. Thank you Karen and the wonderful PHHS students for a day to remember!”

NEF Drafting Competition

It was a great month for our engineering students who participated in the NEF Design Drafting Competition. The CAD/design/drafting competition is a contest designed for senior high school- and college-level students. The contest provides recognition to students for creative design, successful problem solving and craftsmanship in preparing architectural drawings.

Entries were evaluated for detail, accuracy and originality of work. Objectives of the contest were to introduce students to the construction industry in a positive and challenging manner, while fostering a sense of self-worth and building confidence. Each local sponsor is furnished with a design problem that is designed by a licensed architect or engineer and is generic enough to meet the needs of all areas of the United States and our international affiliates. Project drawings must include a minimum of: a floor plan, exterior elevation, site plan and placement of structure.

This year, the students submitted architectural plans for a commercial building of their own design and competed against both high school seniors and college students. PHHS swept the awards, winning first, second and third place! They will receive monetary prizes as well as being advanced to the regional competition.

Congratulations to the following seniors who proudly represented Henry High:

First place – Danny Truong

Second place – Summer Merrill

Third place – Yarina Conde Millan

PHHS Rubik’s Cube Club

Did you know the inventor of the Rubik’s Cube, Erno Rubik, took one month to solve the puzzle before introducing this puzzle to the world? Today, the Guinness World Record is held by Feliks Zemdegs, who completed the fete in just 4.22 seconds! This craze, which began in the late ’70s, is still going strong and was a featured event at the annual Cal State San Marcos Super STEM Saturday event sponsored by Viasat for students of all ages.

PHHS math teacher Thomas Knapik decided to take his club on the road to complete with other schools for the first time last month. At the Super STEM Saturday event, there were opportunities to explore interactive demonstrations, hands-on science activities, including rocket launches, build-a-robot stations, model displays, scientist chats, and an obstacle course. The event was free and open to the public.

The Rubik’s Cube competition was just one of the highlights of the event, where elementary, middle, and high schools had an opportunity to compete for the fastest times eight players could solve 25 cubes.

Patrick Henry’s time for solving 25 cubes by eight students was 3:35 minutes, which put them in fourth place. They were edged out of the top three spots by Hemet High School (1:47 minutes), Classical Academy (1:50 minutes), and Del Norte High (2:42 minutes).

To prepare for the match, the students attended a staff meeting where they were put on stage in front of their teachers and given 25 cubes to solve prior to a meeting. It was impressive to see how quickly the students could spin each cube demonstrating their talents and quick agility to move the tiles from one place to the next and solve the puzzle under pressure. Go Patriots!

Kudos to Pershing Middle School’s Willy Wonka Production

Pershing Middle School delighted audiences in March with their rendition of Roald Dahl’s “Willy Wonka Junior” musical production. Based on the book “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” this adapted play was produced and directed by Principal Susan Levy.

How a principal has time to step out of one role and take charge of over 50 students from her eighth-grade class is amazing! Levy reported they had the tryouts last October and had been working after school ever since to prepare for the play. Thanks to a wonderful support crew of parents and staff, they put together a production that was truly magnificent and something to be proud of.

— Elizabeth Gillingham is principal of Patrick Henry High School.

By Elizabeth Gillingham

Special Olympics sponsors event

The last Friday in April proved to be a day that many of our athletes with intellectual disabilities will never forget. Henry students competed against three other district schools in soccer, earning gold, silver, and bronze medals for their efforts.

According to the Special Olympics website, their mission statement says, “No matter the person’s age or skill level, Special Olympics Southern California has something for every person with intellectual disabilities. We deliver high-quality, year-round competition and training opportunities in an inclusive culture that stresses athletic excellence, rewards determination, emphasizes health, and celebrates personal achievement.”

With the direct coordination from Henry teacher Tianna Reitman and the Circle of Friends club, we were able to sponsor this event that honored close to 100 different students with moderate to severe learning disabilities. We had law enforcement officers on board to donate their time to help give out awards. Many other Henry students were also helping by refereeing the games, announcing the school winners and scores, and helping with other tasks.

Watching the students was a treat as there were smiles everywhere while students played a fun game of soccer with their friends. Much appreciation goes to Henry teacher Tianna Reitman and the families that donated water and other beverages!

PHHS Student of the Month

Bria Combs was selected for PHHS Student of Month for April and attended the Kiwanis breakfast with her sister, and Vice Principal Bill Miller.

One teacher stated in his recommendation, “Bria Combs has played a major part in the broadcast journalism class this year. Not only is she a natural talent for being an anchor and news reporter, she has made a huge contribution to our story development and interview segments. She is always happy to get involved in whatever story comes up and is often the person taking the lead and making things happen.”

Another teacher stated, “Bria is an exemplar student in AVID. She is a collaborator, a leader, and extremely kind-hearted. I have often seen her work hard to make students feel included in a group setting, or give students excellent advice or a pep talk when needed. I think that is one of her more endearing qualities, the fact that she can motivate others around her to work hard, and to continue working hard —even when times are tough.”

Her English teacher stated, “Bria is passionate, informed, and inquisitive, demands the most of herself and her peers to question, to challenge, and to change the status quo. In the process, she has helped others to examine closely and critically their beliefs, their thoughts, their very being. And she does so with a depth of character and persistence that few her age possess, even though it has not always been easy. A woman with voice, Bria commands a presence that makes it difficult not to notice her.”

Mr. Miller noted that she is a polite and courteous student monitor who helps out tremendously in the front office. She greets all of our visitors with a “hello” and a smile as they enter, making everyone feel welcomed at Henry.

PHHS Bel Canto Choir wins at Music In The Park

The sun had not yet begun to peak out from beyond the horizon as the Patrick Henry High School students representing the Bel Canto Choir stepped on the bus on Saturday morning, March 16. But neither the early start nor the nearly two-hour bus ride would deter this group of talented local singers from being at their best when their best was required.

Under the direction of choir teacher Rachel Samuelsz, Patrick Henry High’s advanced choir performed beautifully in front of the judges at the Music In The Park Festival in Orange County. Not only did Bel Canto earn a superior rating for its performances of “Psalm 150” and “Sing,” the choir earned first place in the large school, mixed choir competition. The trophy presentation took place at the Fantasyland Theatre outdoor amphitheater in Disneyland with hundreds of choir and band students and their teachers in attendance.

“We are thrilled to be recognized as one of the top student choirs,” Samuelsz said. “The students worked very hard to be in a position to sing their absolute best when it came time to perform. I’m incredibly proud of all of them.”

Each year, ensembles from all over the United States and Canada participate in Music In The Parks. For school choirs like Patrick Henry’s Bel Canto, the festival provides a year-end assessment by an outside panel and nationally known adjudicators. This year’s first-place award marks the best achievement by the Henry choir in several years.

PHHS standouts

PHHS junior Sean McClure competed in Long Beach at the Region 1 Championship against other level 10 gymnasts aged 15-16 years old. Amongst the 16-year-olds, he earned a fourth-place medal for his routine on the pommel horse and placed 15th for his all-around score. For the 15-16-year-old level 10 combined group, he placed 22nd and has qualified to compete at the national level at the Men’s Junior Olympic National Championships, which will be held in Reno, Nevada in May. He also earned an All-American academic award for maintaining a high GPA while practicing 18-plus hours of gymnastics per week.

Marissa Mae G. Cris­pino, 11th grade art student, attended the recognition award ceremony for the 2019 Congressional Art Competition sponsored by Rep. Susan Davis (CA-53). This special event was held at San Diego History Center in Balboa Park. Marissa won honorable mention and was one of the top six choices with her original drawing.

Alyna Uribe, grade 10, created a work of art for the SDUSD Student Art Exhibit 2019 and was chosen to be shown at the inaugural SDUSD Seaport Village Student Art Exhibition!

PHHS wins EDCO Challenge again

Congratulations to PHHS, who was named the first-place winner in the high school category of the 2018-19 EDCO Recycling Challenge. PHHS waste reduction and increased recycling resulted in a 39.97% waste diversion rate (an 11% increase from last year), garnering Henry the top district honor and a $1,250 prize award.

The goal of the Recycling Challenge is to reduce waste and increase recycling in our schools to facilitate compliance with state law requiring school districts to divert 75% of our waste from landfill disposal by 2020. Winners were determined based on overall waste diversion (i.e. waste vs. recycling service), bin fullness and weight surveys, and level of recycling education and outreach programs implemented on campus through March 31, 2019. Results were also based per capital student enrollment.

On April 23, Principal Listy Gillingham, POS Cathy Murphy, and teachers Lara Dickens and Ron Flaherty attended the board meeting to accept the award. Student leaders Vy Nguyen and Tram Bui, of the JROTC Community Service Club, were formally invited by PHHS to accept the award on behalf of the students of PHHS. The cadets help on and off campus with litter removal and recycling events. They collect commingled recycling bins from classrooms and take them to the recycling dumpsters. They also do campus litter patrols every Thursday after school.

Henry surf team undefeated

We are very proud to announce that the Patrick Henry surf team finished the season undefeated!

This past month, our surfers beat out Mission Bay and Grauer High School of Encinitas to earn the CIF title. Many of our top surfers such as Ruben Allen, Zack Lauerman, Max Zimmerman, Carlos DeCastro, Davyn Mikulanis, Crew Jenkins and Bella Ledford finished the season by advancing to the semi-finals and final rounds in their events. PHHS sent our top surfers (Allen, Mikulanis, Zimmerman and Zach Stulls) to the California State Competition held last month in Oceanside.

Thank you to all of the support from our parents, coaches and Henry staff. We are proud of our surfers!

PHHS thanks administrative professionals

In support of National Administrative Professional week, the PHHS Administrative Council team honored the office staff at Henry with their annual luncheon held at Pancho’s Mexican Restaurant on Fletcher Parkway. We are very fortunate to have staff members who readily greet and work with our families whenever they need help navigating their way through high school. Special thanks to:

• Administrative assistant John Ortler for running our office, dealing with rentals, and paying our staff members who work beyond the school day.
• Administrative aide Lorrie Harper, who assists our principal and handles special projects.
• Secretary and receptionist Nancy Passmore, who works with our substitutes and is our athletic secretary as well.
• Attendance secretaries Nita Brown, Carlos Luna, and Chris Genung, who assist our students when they come in late or are returning after an illness.
• Health technician Sharon Hackett, who helps our students when they are sick.
• Counseling secretary Sara Guinn, who is ready to assist when a student is in crisis.
• Registrar Vera Li, who helps with our records and transcripts.
• Site tech Angie Figueroa, who maintains our computer system and school records.
• Media technician Jim Spradlin, who helps maintains all the technology (hardware) on the campus.
• Financial secretary Lucia Pineda/Maria Hoelck, for paying our bills all year.

It takes a village to run a school the size of Henry and we could never do the work without the dedication and support of this staff! Thank you for your service to our school!

— Elizabeth Gillingham is principal of Patrick Henry High School.

Final 2018-2019 Student of the Month

Congratulations to Zoe Chandler who was named PHHS’s Student of the Month for May at the Kiwanis breakfast meeting. Zoe came with her mom and dad, Stacy and Gabe Chandler, and her brother Grant to the breakfast where she was given a certificate and a gift card in recognition of her achievements at Henry. Principal Listy Gillingham presented Zoe as one of her personal favorite graduates given Zoe’s longstanding commitment to the school.

Zoe has been an active supporter of the PHHS’s wrestling team as both of her parents are coaches. She was seen at every match where she managed the team by providing extra assistance to the athletes, taking pictures, and helping in any way possible. She took the leadership skills she learned through this commitment and bumped it up a notch by becoming a peer mediator for two years assisting students in crisis while helping them solve conflicts before they got out of hand.

Zoe is also the PHHS yearbook editor. She earned this role after enrolling in yearbook as a sophomore and then continued to help create three yearbooks for the students at Henry. Yearbook advisor Rachel Samuelsz reported that we would not have a yearbook if it weren’t for the commitment, dedication and hard work provided by Zoe Chandler.

PHHS cuts ribbon on new building

May 6 was the official opening of the new two-story building at PHHS! In coordination with the SDUSD’s communication department and the contractor Chuck Gossage, president of PVW Construction, an official ceremony was held to celebrate the grand opening and use of the new facilities in phase two of modernizing PHHS.

The event started off with the PHHS NJROTC color guard team presenting the colors while senior Iris Rogel sang the national anthem. Principal Listy Gillingham welcomed everyone and gave a quick overview of the importance of the new facility for the students and staff at Henry.

SDUSD’s Board President Sharon Whitehurst-Payne spoke next and shared how having bond measures supported by the voters has had a direct impact on the campus transforming it into a college-like setting. She thanked the hard work of the team which included Chief of Facilities Lee Dulgeroff, project manager Julio Ramos, construction manager Carl Schneider, assistant construction project manager Lisa Sikorski, inspector Greg Schwartz, and James Bucknam, Chuck Gossage and Steve Yetta of PVW.

Dulgeroff spoke and highlighted the different components of the project which include:

24 new classrooms and two ROP (regional occupation program classes), providing a community pre-school for Henry students to learn how to be teachers.

Two filtered hydration stations.

Three newly-remodeled engineering classrooms, which includes a civil engineering and design lab, a fabrication lab and graphic arts instructional space.

Remodel of the main office with a state-of-the-art glass entrance, PHHS logo, and a new staff lounge area.

Solar energy panels will be coming next.

ASB President Christopher Stagner provided a few comments in terms of the student’s perspective of the campus and what it means to attend school in the new facility with the many upgrades. PHHS hopes to offer a 50th celebration of the first graduating class next spring with an open house and other student performances. Stay tuned for more updates!

Track and swim news

Patrick Henry had a successful Western League finals on May 31. The Patriots will go in strong to CIF on June 8 with Western League champion in the 100-meter, George Oke, coming in ranked No. 1 for Division 1 along with teammate Steven Guillory-Smith ranked sixth.

Donovan Jennings comes in ranked third in the long jump in Division I and fourth in San Diego. Jennings was able to do this feat without having a facility to train on during the season!

Amazing freshman Daniella Smith comes in ranked eighth in Division I in the 100-meter and freshman Shayla Harris is ranked 11th in the 400.

Henry also had an exciting finish to our swim and dive season. Our athletes did great at CIF finals. Our para swimmer Grace Lockwood advanced to state finals for her 50 and 100 freestyle. Here are all of our results from our CIF swim team finals:

Ingrid Maclean placed 13th for her 100 backstroke.

Reyna Winter placed 16th for her 500 freestyle.

Boys medley relay with Sean Quirk, Kevin Harry, Ethan Ackland and Ian Balcazar placed 15th.

Our para swimmers all earned medals. Grace Lockwood placed first in her 50 and 100 freestyles with her personal best times; Antonio Boleware placed third for his 50 freestyle; Alberto Castaneda placed fourth for his 50 freestyle; and Jayden Orta placed fifth for this 50 freestyle.

Music students travel the country

Several alumni and current students of the Instrumental Music Program will be traveling the country this summer as part of Drum Corps International’s (DCI) Tour.

After an extensive audition process with their chosen drum corps, accepted students will be practicing and performing with the world’s best of the marching arts at various venues coast to coast from June through August, culminating at the DCI World Championships at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana in front of a crowd of over 25,000.

“I’m extremely excited for the hardworking and dedicated musicians and color guard members that are participating from our program which represent the top 1% of all young adults in the activity,” said PHHS Director Matt Kalal. “It’s unique to have so many students participating at the highest level from one school in our district.”

Participating in World Class Corps are Armando Cano (alumni) and Nathan Anthony with Pacific Crest, Jennifer Voogd with the Mandarins, and Matthew Voogd (alumni) with the Blue Knights. Participating with Gold, an Open Class Corps, are Ian Lovewell, John Lagunas, and Sydney Eun. Previous participating students have included Ashlynn Willis, Nico Coto, and alumni Cris Cerna, Jacob Goucher, and Ryan Morrison.

The 2019 DCI Tour will feature more than 70 drum corps and SoundSport teams participating in more than 100 different competitive events in 35 states. You can see our students perform with their respective drum corps at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 28, at Rancho Buena Vista High School in Vista, CA.

For more information on the Instrumental Music Program at Henry, go to spiritof76boosters.com and DCI at dci.org.

PHHS students win Law Day contest

Three PHHS freshman — Alexis Kovacevic, Cassie Pataky and Naomi Susuki — won the City Heights Law Day essay contest last month. The theme was the First Amendment and they wrote about the history of banned books in schools. San Diego City Council President Georgette Gomez awarded the students with a certificate and a $200 check for each of the students.

Union-Tribune Community Journalism Scholar

PHHS junior Kellen Foster is one of six students countywide selected to participate in the San Diego Union-Tribune’s 2019 Community Journalism Scholars program.

The students were selected based on their academic achievement, writing ability, recommendations and interviews. They will be paired with mentors from the Union-Tribune’s newsroom for five weeks this summer to learn about journalism and leadership, and their works will be published online by the newspaper. The students will be paid, and one of the six students will win a $5,000 scholarship.

Kellen reported that during the summer he will attend classes on becoming a journalist which will include shadowing one who will likely end up being his mentor. He will have to write five different stories and create some video stories as well. He demonstrated a strong commitment to program and will give a full report about it once he completes it. Congratulations to Kellen for furthering his education this summer with such a great program!

— Elizabeth Gillingham is principal of Patrick Henry High School.

By Elizabeth Gillingham

Art shows what inspires students

Patrick Henry High School (PHHS) has spent the last five years working on developing a strong culture and sense of pride within our community. Three pillars were selected and much discussion during advisory groups has been centered on being welcoming, doing no harm, and using choice words.

This year, the advisory team headed up by English teacher, Chad Miller — with the help of his support team of teachers Linda Good, Tom Knapik, Elise Morgan, Mindy Bunch, Mike Pinto, Karl Bolton, and Karen Thomas — decided to change the focus toward developing a schoolwide growth mindset. They created videos with the help of some student leaders and provided an avenue for students to consider the idea of “Not Yet” when considering one’s ability to do a challenging task.

From that idea, we moved toward considering what inspires you and that’s where our program created something special. If you enter past the main gate, you’ll now see something amazing! At first glance, you might think it is Van Gogh’s famous “Starry Night” painting that has been created on a 6-by-10-foot wall. But as you get closer, you’ll see that it’s made from small square paper tiles with a message written on each one.

The students at Henry (all 2,400) were given the task to write down on these tiny notepapers what inspires them. From there, teacher extraordinaire Karl Bolton create a mural by digitizing the art piece and putting it together tile by tile.

Reading each piece is inspirational enough, but knowing that every student helped create this artistic display makes it very special. Comments like I’m inspired by: “My family,” “music,” “my parent’s happiness,” or “art” show up time and time again reminding us of our influence in what we say or do around our students.

You definitely need to stop and see this mural to truly admire the work done by one (Mr. Bolton) on behalf of many (everyone at Henry) to share PHHS inspiration!

Alumni Association Golf Tournament

Thank you to all our great sponsors, donors, volunteers and attendees for making Thursday, May 16, a special Patriot Day! Patrick Henry High School (PHHS) would like to thank the Alumni Association and specifically the president, Kevin Carlson, for the continued support provided by this organization of volunteers. They spend over a year planning the golf tournament with the hope of raising funds that will directly go to the students at PHHS.

Members from the Alumni Association give their time and in many cases, their financial support, through hole sponsorships and other donations to make this event successful. We are very grateful for all that they’ve done and I hope you enjoy reading about the tournament so that it will inspire you to attend the next one on Oct. 22, 2020!

Through their support, we’re pleased to announce that our event this year netted $43,000 for special capital projects, equipment, and other teaching aids items unfunded by the school district.

Add to that number more than $36,000 in cash donations received from Patriot alumni ($25,000 restricted to the Patriot baseball program by Class of 2000 alumni Dahnte Sullivan — thank you, Dahnte, along with two anonymous $5,000 donations and many other smaller amounts) and your alumni association will have a net impact this year alone to the school of over $79,000!

This means in just seven years, your Patrick Henry High School Alumni Association, Inc., (PHHSAA) has raised in excess of $334,000 while holding seven fun events for alumni, current and former faculty members, parents of students, and other friends of the school.

Your Alumni Association has also been the recipient of a $200,000 donation of furniture for the school’s main office, $90,000 of donations earmarked for the new PHAME building, the $25,000 and two $5,000 pledges mentioned above, an anonymous $25,000 grant used to help purchase 38 new PCs and monitors for the school’s computer lab, along with two separate $10,000 pledges received in a prior year from various alumni.

All in all, with your assistance, we have raised and are in the process of donating nearly $700,000 in goods and material support for the school and its student body in the brief seven-year history since the Alumni Association’s founding. Not bad for a dream born out of a luncheon reuniting Class of 1978 and 1979 football and baseball players to thank several of their coaches back in the summer of 2011!

More alumni fundraising

New Patriot Head Football Coach J.T. O’Sullivan (a 10-year NFL quarterback) is busy transforming the Henry football team. This fall, Coach O’Sullivan will be running his team into a newly remodeled stadium and field in new Nike green Henry uniforms purchased by your PHHS Alumni Association, Inc.

Coach O’Sullivan is actively raising funds to replace the white Henry away uniforms. If you would like to support this effort, please send a check to the PHHS Alumni Association, Inc. at 9292 Activity Road, or click on the “Donate” button at bit.ly/2XPSu0A and we will insure your funds go to this purpose.

All net funds are overseen by our seven-member PHHSAA board of directors. Grants and/or disbursements are given careful consideration upon receipt of a requesting party’s completed grant request or via recommendations of our scholarship committee to our board of directors.

On May 30^, Jeff Schindler (‘78) presented a $1,500 check each to our 2019 PHHS senior class members Libby Swanson, Alan Inthavong and Shusheng Li for their winning entries in our college scholarship awards program.

More thanks

All of this would not be possible without the tremendous support of all of our sponsors and attendees as well as the hard work from a dedicated group of (listed alphabetically): Committee members —Kevin Carlson (‘78), Tom Conklin (‘77), Jeff Cyr (‘78), Todd Faucett (‘82), John Harris (‘76), Deanna Hopkins-Christman (‘78), Listy Gillingham, Leta Keyes, Bill McColl (‘80), Marla Mohr (‘84), Al Naliboff (‘78), Mike Nokes (‘78), John Osborne (‘78), Bob Ruane (‘78), Jeff Schindler (‘78), Mary Treadwell, Marie Tuthill, and Tom Weikel (‘80).

Volunteers — September Chappellet (‘84), Steve Cosio (‘78), Diane Darley-Munoz (‘78), Erin Doherty-Karnetski (‘78), Duane Lester (‘78), Terri Racine-Stolberg (‘82) and Deanna Rodriguez-Carlock (‘84).

PHHS parent volunteers — Darcy Denton, Bessie Gellenfeldt, Elaine Legaspi (‘82), Andrew Schacke (‘82) and Niki Schacke.

We also want to give special recognition to our co-title sponsors: Scott Slocum (‘93); Winfield Development, Inc.; Peter Vander Werff Construction, Inc.; and Chuck Gossage for their outstanding overall financial support, as well as to Marie Tuthill, her assistant Leta Keyes and our auction item donors for their help in making our silent auction as well-presented as you will see anywhere and financially successful as well.

Golf tournament winning teams

North Course — First place goes to Steve Barker, Ron Cantor, Kevin Burningham and Greg Sidlo (repeat winners, congrats to them!); runner-up Hillary Page, Mike Gentile, Scott Slocum and Chris Munro; and third place Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Mike Peavy and Thomas Malone.

South Course — First place goes to Brian Cantor, Tom Conklin, Brian Smock and Mike Gillard; runner-up Sean Rapp, Dennis McNamara, Frank Furtak and Reagan McGowan; and third place Robert Browns, Gary Bley, Jeff Bley and Sean Weismann.

These first-place winners will be added to our perpetual Patriot Cup trophy in the lobby of the main office at school. They, along with the second- and third-place foursomes, will receive an invitation to play in the Randy Jones Invitational (RJI) Golf Tournament in January and February of 2020. The winning overall foursome from the RJI tourney receives an all-expense paid trip for eight to Pebble Beach, California. Should the RJI winner come from one of our groups mentioned above, the PHHS Alumni Association will receive a check in the amount of $10,000 from the RJI.

PHHS top 1 percent for the Class of 2019

Patrick Henry High School (PHHS) honored the top 1% of the senior class at SeaWorld last month in the district’s annual Salute to Excellence event. Every high school in the district was represented and students were honored by their principals through a special recognition program. PHHS was proud to name the following students as the top six seniors for their outstanding GPAs:

Ranked 1: Ivy Vuong, 4.80 GPA, going to Yale University

Ranked 2: Maya Rozenshteyn, 4.79 GPA, going to Princeton University

Ranked 3: Andrew Hua, 4.74 GPA, going to University of California, Santa Barbara

Ranked 4: Trevor Chubb, 4.72 GPA, going to Georgetown University

Ranked 5: Lilly Mai, 4.71 GPA, going to University of Southern California

Ranked 6: Celester Lintz 4.71 GPA, going to University of Pittsburgh

Most Remarkable Teen

The San Diego County Public Defender’s office selected 25 teenagers from 201 applications around the county and Patrick Henry high School (PHHS) senior, Angelo Salazar, was selected after being nominated by teacher Jim Achenbach.

In a letter sent last month, Chairwomen Diane Jacob stated, “Congratulations on being honored as one of the San Diego’s 25 Most Remarkable Teens by the County Public Defender’s office! Please know we are very proud of your success. You have demonstrated abilities at your young age that certainly indicate your potential to develop into one of our region’s most committed and outstanding citizens.”

San Diego County Public Defender Randy Mize said, “It was difficult choosing just 25 from so many amazing kids, but it was also encouraging to learn that San Diegans want to talk about the good things San Diego teens are doing. And that is a good conversation to have in itself.”

In Angelo’s application, Achenbach noted that Angelo excels academically and plays on the PHHS varsity ruby and football teams. He also mentors and tutors special needs children, coaches a youth basketball team and tutors students for the ACT exam. Achenbach continued by stating, “Angelo volunteers countless hours and is a steadfast and conscientious participant who inspires other to do wonderful things. Angelo is personal, good natured, smart, engaging and outgoing. He chooses to work hard to bring out the best in both the special needs students, as well as the other students involved in the club.”

Angelo is attending United States Military Academy at West Point next year and plans to study law so he can continue to help people and give back to the community.

PHHS Scholar Athletes of the Year

Congratulations to our male and female athletes of the year! Allison Arend and Jonathon Marshall were selected this year to represent the best and brightest athletes at Henry.

Allison was selected due to her cumulative GPA of 3.91 and her work on both our field hockey and soccer teams. She was noted for earning the following recognition in both sports: Field Hockey Captains Award 2016, Field Hockey MVP 2017 and 2018, Women’s Soccer MVP 2018, Field Hockey First Team All-League 2017 and 2018, Women’s Soccer First Team All-League 2016 and 2018, Conference Player of the Year for Women’s Soccer 2018, and a four-year Honor Roll student at PHHS! Allison will be going to the University of New Mexico to continue playing soccer.

Jonathon was selected for his strong academic standing in the class earning a GPA of 4.37 and his outstanding contributions to our Henry baseball program. He earned other distinctions which included: San Diego Union-Tribune Scholar-Athlete, San Diego Union Tribune Prep Athlete of the Week, Perfect Game All-Tournament Team, four-year Honor Roll student at PHHS, PHHS Top Ten Junior Recognition earning the Brandeis Book Award, Seal of Bi-Literacy Seal for Spanish, and AP Scholar with Distinction. Jonathan will continue his baseball career as a catcher at Occidental College next year.

PHHS wishes both Jonathon and Allison the best of luck with their future endeavors.

— Elizabeth Gillingham is principal of Patrick Henry High School.

By Elizabeth Gillingham

Junior University Book Awards

Every year, different universities recognize outstanding juniors in local secondary schools by presenting books to the top 2% of the class. They do this to help attract the best students to their schools and to provide name recognition for counselors and schools when talking about options for their seniors. They also encourage students to look at schools outside the area by providing incentives (like promises of scholarships) for students who might select them the following year.

The counseling team starts with a ranked list and tries to award each book based on the student interest and talents. This year, the book awards were given to the following students:

Yale Book Award: Kieran Hilmer

The Yale Book Award recognizes a junior who is in the top 1% of their class and exhibits leadership skills, demonstrates outstanding personal character and has intellectual promise. Kieran Hilmer is currently ranked first overall for the class of 2020 and has a GPA of 4.72.

Wellesley College Book Wward: Chloe Morris

Wellesley College is a four-year liberal arts college for women in Boston, Massachusetts. Chloe Morris was selected for this award due to her impressive academic record and exceptional character. Chole is currently tied for second overall for the class of 2020 and has a GPA of 4.7.

Xerox Award for Innovation and Information: Jacob Graven

The Xerox Award for innovation and technology is given to students who demonstrate achievement in the pursuit of innovative approaches and an appreciation for the possibilities of technology. Jacob is currently tied for second overall for the class of 2020 and has a GPA of 4.7.

George Eastman Young Leaders Award: Isaac Roberts

This award was formerly called the Kodak Young Leaders Award. It is given to deserving students for their high grades in challenging courses, involvement in extracurricular activities, and/or strong leadership experience at school and in our community. The award is from the University of Rochester and may lead to a $40,000 scholarship toward tuition if the student applies and is admitted. Isaac is currently ranked fourth overall for the class of 2020 and has a GPA of 4.68.

Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony Award: Jade Mitchell

The University of Rochester selects students who have demonstrated strong personal character and a commitment to understanding and addressing difficult social issues. Jade is currently tied for fifth overall for the class of 2020 and has a GPA of 4.67.

Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award: Theodore Schenck

The Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science award is given by the University of Rochester for rigor and high achievement in science classes and also high PSAT scores in math. Our winner this year is Theodore Schenck. Theodore is currently tied for fifth overall for the class of 2020 and has a GPA of 4.67.

St. Lawrence University Book Award: Alexander Penney

St. Lawrence University honors their recipient for their commitment to active service in the community as well as academic success by giving them a book award and a $1,000 merit scholarship per year if they apply and are accepted. Alex is currently ranked seventh overall for the class of 2020 and has a GPA of 4.61.

Brandeis University Book Award: Heather Nelson

The Brandeis Book Award recognizes outstanding high school juniors committed to academic engagement. Heather Nelson is tied for eighth overall for the class of 2020 and has a GPA of 4.56.

Brown University Book Award: Hayden Hunt, Lisa Nguyen, and Danielle Toleno

This year we have chosen three juniors to receive the Brown University Book Award. In the words of the Brown University Book Award Association: “The Brown Book Award honors the juniors who best combine academic excellence with clarity in written and spoken expression; language is the highest expression of our humanity; it defines what we are and what we aspire to be. Hayden Hunt, who is currently tied for eighth overall for the class of 2020 with a GPA of 4.56. Lisa Nguyen and Danielle Toleno who are both tied for 10th overall for the class of 2020 with a GPA of 4.5.

Johns Hopkins University Book Award: Mara Preciado

The Johns Hopkins University award celebrates the spirit of Johns Hopkins University, whose alumni populate the upper levels of many disciplines, including literature, the arts, medicine, the sciences, international affairs, the social sciences, and engineering. The student chosen to receive this award demonstrated a desire for intellectual and moral growth and the strength of character necessary to employ towards the betterment of society. Mara Preciado is also in a tie for 10th overall for the class of 2020 with a GPA of 4.5

Saint John’s College Book Award: Makaila Williams

Saint John’s College book award is given to a student who has demonstrated intellectual courage, a dedication to the liberal arts, and for having virtue in the sense of one being the best one can be. Students selected thrive on knowledge and discovery, achieves excellence within a depth of curriculum and demonstrate both thoughtfulness and intelligence in life. This year, Makaila Williams is another junior tied for the ranking of 10th overall for the class of 2020 with a GPA of 4.5.

Saint Michael’s College Book Award: Ainsleigh Beard and Sydney Cooper

Saint Michael’s College has chosen two juniors to receive the Saint Michael’s College Book Award for Academic Achievement because they embody the values and interests of current Saint Michael’s College students. The book award recognizes their academic success and achievements. Their accomplishments embody St. Michael’s commitment to intellectual achievement, social justice and concern for others. Ainsleigh Beard and Sydney Cooper are also tied for the ranking of 10th overall for the class of 2020 with a GPA of 4.5.

Teachers honored for their service

On June 12, Patrick Henry High School (PHHS) staff honored various teachers for their years of service to the San Diego Unified School District. Teachers were recognized for working five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 years of service! This year’s list was very impressive as you can see and appreciate the level of expertise that is provided on our campus. The following teachers were honored for their dedication and service in each category listed.

5 Years of Service:

• Haley Culver – Introduction to Teaching
• Ron Flaherty – NJROTC
• Emily Moy – Engineering

10 Years of Service:

• Karen Aguilar – Mathematics
• Walter Callen – Chemistry
• Tomas Cometto – Mathematics
• Kelly Bry an – Social Studies
• Christine Grkovich – World Languages
• Mike Martinez – Social Studies
• Mike McVeigh – World Languages
• Ann Wegmann – Biology

15 years of Service:

• Vivian Vaccarino – Counseling

20 Years of Service:

• Therese Frerichs – English
• Thom Hunt – Photography
• Matt Pruden – Social Studies
• Matt Reese – Physical Education

25 Years of Service:

• Mark Abbott – Video Production
• Bill Miller – Vice Principal

35 Years of Service:

• Christine Carr – Theater

Senior Awards Night

In June, the class of 2019 was formally recognized by many community organizations through scholarships and other school awards to approximately 70 students. The following students were recognized by the community with scholarships:

• PHHS Alumni Association Scholarship, $1,500: Alan Inthavong, Shusheng Li, and Elizabeth Swanson
• Semper Fidelis Distinguished Athlete Award: Thao Thi-Thanh Doan
• Semper Fidelis Musical Excellence Award: James Titus Schultz
• Semper Fidelis Academic Excellence Award: Anne Minh Nguyen
• Semper Fidelis JROTC Leadership Award: Donaji Conde Lorenzo
• Semper Fidelis JROTC Espiritu De Corps Award: Shusheng Li
• The United States Military Academy at West Point: Angelo Salazar
• CalRTA Scholarship: Julia Hong and Bonnie Nguyen
• The Administrators Association of San Diego: Tiffany Pham
• East County Schools Fed. Credit Union Scholarship: Jonathon Marshall
• SDSU Shirley Ann Speilman Scholarhship: Phuong Cao
• SDSU John O. & Mary L. Anderson Memorial Endowed Scholarship in Sociology: Cindy Tu
• SDSU Fowler College of Business Scholarship: Khai Nguyen
• The William Kalt Memorial La Mesa Rotary Club Scholarship: Eliza Rosales and Nathan Tong
• Grossmont High School Health Career Scholarship: Sophie Green and Chris Isip
• St. Dunstan’s Community Outreach: Owen Cooksy, Vanessa Du, Kristie Duong, Emily Otsuka and Lojeen Ragab
• RCD Conservation Scholarship: Apollonia Arellano
• Grantville-Allied Gardens Kiwanis Scholarship: Shayla Hoang, Trenten Hui, Ryan Lieng, Long Pham, Christine Van and Ivy Vuong
• AVID Scholarship: Ryan Lieng
• PHHS Foundation Scholarships: Mohamed Awadh, Sophie Green, Armando Luna, Brian Ramos, Michelle Rivera Lomeli and Joy Churchhill
• Sunrise Optimist Club of SD Scholarship: Garett David and Shayla Hoang
• Lake Murray Kiwanis Scholarship: Pamela Cruz Cortes, Yongqing Li, Amanda Martin, Lojeen Ragab and Sherleen Reyes Chavira
• The following students were recipients of the PHHS Department Awards:
• AVID Award: Bria Combs
• Drama: Kenneth Anderson
• Engineering Academy: Andrea Espinoza
• Engineering Academy-Computer Science: Jared Beltz
• English: Owen Cooksy
• English Writing: Brian Wright
• Mathematics: Trevor Chubb
• California Math Council: Sarah Kosic
• Music-Instrumental: Amanda Martin
• Music -Vocalist: Lydia Duran
• NJROTC: Onric Chewy and Yongqing Li
• Photography: Megan Cheever
• Science: Maya Rozenshteyn
• Social Studies: Megan Hayes
• Student Government: McKenzie Graff
• Yearbook: Zoe Chandler
• The last set of students were recipients of the PHHS Special School Awards:
• National Merit Finalist: Sarah Kosic and Maya Rozenshteyn
• Perseverance & Achievement Award: Josimar Gonzale and Michael M. Nguyen
• President’s Academic Excellence (top 2% students): Ivy Vuong, Celeste Lintz, Maya Rozenshteyn, Jonathan Marshall, Andrew Hua, Tiffany Pham, Trevor Chubb, Anne Nguyen, Lilly Mai and Amanda Martin
• The Patriots of the Year for the Class of 2019: Jonna Carey, Trevor Chubb, Maya Dixon, Mia Fishel, Sarah Kosic, Jonathon Marshall, Amanda Martin and Matthew Russell
• Senior of the Year 2019: Amanda Martin
• Scholar Athletes of the Year: Allison and Jonathon Marshall
• Maria Theodore Memorial Scholarship: Jonna Carey
• Donald Giddings Leadership Award: Christopher Stagner
• Presentation to the Salutatorian: Maya Rozenshteyn
• Presentation to the Valedictorians: Ivy Vuong
• Weissenberg Family Watch Presentation: Ivy Vuong

Reclassified students celebrated at Henry

Patrick Henry was proud to award 21 students on their ability to reclassify as English Learners. These students were tested when they entered the San Diego Unified School District for their initial identification as an English Learner (demonstrating a lack of proficient knowledge of the English language).

After spending some time in a specially designated learning environment, students were given an annual summative assessment to measure their progress in learning English and to identify the students’ level of English language proficiency as they progressed through various grade levels. Once they passed the ELPAC (English Language Proficiency Assessment for California) test and showed progress in their coursework, they could be re-designated as a “reclassified” English Learner.

Speaking two languages or more is a tremendous advantage for these students and completing their training towards becoming proficient in another language (English) further supports their ability to excel in high school. PHHS honored these students with a special presentation given by the principal and the EL coordinator, Kyra Bartlett.

Congratulations to: Mohammed Alnaimi, Alberto Castaneda, Carlos Rodriguez Chavez, Miriam Briones Decenas, Thao Doan, Hannah Donalson, Darien Duong, Isaac Galicot, Sofia Galicot, Ceasar Guerrero, Bryant Ho, Ethan Jimenez, Jason Melchor, Raul Montano, Cesar Munoz, Luz Ortiz, Destiny Solis, Ignacio Urbano, Alexia Vasquesz-Enriquez, Manuel Vega Torres, Natalia Vega Torre and Sofia Zukowa.

Triple E Awards

Bea Evenson, a local philanthropist, generously donated funds to Patrick Henry High School to award students who have exhibited the three Es – Excellence, Ethics and Enterprise – in community service.

Awards have been given in the past for many activities including participation and achievements in various community organizations, all manners of volunteer work at hospitals, parks, libraries, charitable events, churches, synagogues, homeless shelters, humane societies, and other contributions to the community.

This has been a very special tradition at Patrick Henry High School for over 35 years and we are proud to give the Triple E Award to four special students this year. Here is a quick description of each award-winner this year:

Joy Churchill: Joy has been a passionate volunteer in Ms. Reitman’s classroom and has also served for the last two years as the president of the Patrick Henry Circle of Friends club. Joy earned this award for her dedication at Patrick Henry plus more volunteer work she continues to do at her church and the Patrick Henry Helping the Homeless Club.

Matthew Thomas: Matthew volunteers his time each Sunday as the pianist for the Mt. Erie Baptist Church Sunday School hour. He is a fine example of a leader for our young people and our community. The words used to describe Matthew are modest, reliable, and supportive.

Alexis Kovacevic, Cassandra Pataky and Wynter Trumpfheller: Alexis, Cassandra, and Wynter volunteered their time to help renovate the PHHS library. Upon their first day at Patrick Henry, they realized that there was no librarian. After a few meetings with Mrs. Sabetti, the library aide at Pershing, and Patrick Henry Principal Mrs. Gillingham, they started in January to get the library in the best shape it could be.

Ryan Lieng: Ryan has been part of the Key Club for the entire four years he’s attended Patrick Henry and this year he was elected as the lieutenant governor of Division 21, which covers most of the public and private schools in the city. He ensures that all schools in the division are well trained to serve their members. He also brings his skills to his AVID class where he collaborates with peers, is a great role model and mentor for the younger students and where his talent in leadership is communicated most effectively.

Kayla Ho: Kayla’s volunteer passion focuses on helping patients and their families at Sharp Memorial Hospital and the Ronald McDonald House. At Sharp Hospital, Kayla works for four hours each week as a guest concierge. Kayla also plays piano once a week during the dinner service at the Ronald McDonald house that serves Rady’s Children’s Hospital. Victoria Tolley: Victoria volunteered with the Patrick Henry Circle of Friends club, she worked as a Baseball Buddy for the Miracle League of San Diego and contributed to the A Night to Remember Prom. Earlier this year Toria volunteered in the annual Tennis Fest. She also volunteered to be an actress with San Diego County Crime Stoppers and the San Diego FBI Teen Academy. She used her acting skills to educate local students on the dangers of making false school threats on social media.

Lily McDonald: Patrick Henry teacher Mr. Myette, one of Lily’s Triple E Award nominators wrote: “The joy, the pride, and the insight that Lily has brought to her classmates and me regarding the impact of waste and consumerism has been refreshing and, more importantly, vital to the PHHS community. As an integral part of the Patrick Henry Thrift Store and the Environmental Club, Lily has passionately spread the word about the importance of the club’s work and has taken a leadership role in expanding membership and increasing involvement.”

Eliza Rosales: Eliza is currently president of the Interact Club whose mission is to make sure that the Patrick Henry foster and homeless students have their needs met. Her club raises money to make sure that students have food, school supplies, and hygiene products and that all seniors graduate with a yearbook and are able to attend all of the senior activities. Eliza also volunteers off campus at a friendship garden near the Mexican-American border and she spends time working at neighborhood elementary schools.

Katie Tu: Katie is one of the Patrick Henry student monitors in the front office and is also a volunteer at the Vietnamese Alliance’s English Ministry for the last year and a half.

Nicole Lackenbacher: Nicole is a phenomenal young lady who has dedicated many hours to the Tifereth Israel Torah School. This year, she was an aid in Michelle Barbour’s fifth grade classroom.

Naman Pandadiya: Naman is a long-time volunteer in the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha spiritual organization that promotes harmony between families and diverse communities. Naman volunteers at the BAPS Walkathon that benefits the Nature Conservancy and Plant a Billion Trees organizations. He raised over $3,000 and then he woke up at 5 a.m. to help set up for the event.

— Elizabeth Gillingham is principal of Patrick Henry High School.

Meet the new teachers

Every year we have a few changes at Patrick Henry High School (PHHS) due to retirements and staff members moving away. This year was no different and I’m happy to report that the new people we’ve hired have been a great fit for our school so far. Please welcome:

Mr. Abraham Shklar is replacing Tina Brown who retired after many years of service to the SDUSD. Mr. Shklar is teaching art and comes to us from Vista High School where he taught for the last five years. When asked what makes Henry special he replied, “The students are so incredibly dedicated to succeeding academically. They’re all so respectful and kind to each other and myself in class. It makes my job as an educator so much more pleasant when I am teaching students who really want to be artists and learn how to draw and paint.”

Mr. Richard Norton joined us after teaching for 25 years in the San Diego Unified School District. His last assignment was at University City High School where his principal reported to me during the interview process what a loss it would be for the school if we hired him as he has been a true gem and leader there. Mr. Norton is teaching English at Henry, however he has experience teaching humanities, video production, journalism, and film arts. Mr. Norton shared that he has enjoyed the terrific support he has received from the staff so far and that he is enjoying the wonderful students he gets to teach.

Dr. Cecile Nedellec joined us after working at Standley Middle School and Serra High School. She taught French and English at Standley and was their dept. chairperson. This is her 15th year of teaching which includes a year teaching in a Swiss middle school as well. Dr. Nedellec shared with me, “I love the windows in my new classroom of course! Thanks to the enthusiasm and warmth of the Patrick Henry staff, students look eager to come to class to learn. One student told me he wished I had been his teacher for the past two years. I could not have gotten a better compliment after the first week of school only. My students are engaged and they are willing to take risks in learning French.”

Tyrent “Ty” Lackey joins our special education department after working eight years at Horace Mann Middle School. He has a decade of teaching and is returning to Henry as an alumni graduating with the class of 2001 and working as a water polo coach in 2010. Mr. Lackey stated his favorite part about Henry is how awesome the students have been and how impressed he is that they want to work and do well.

Kristen O’Hara joins us from Memorial Preparatory for Scholars and Athletes School after one year. Prior to that, she taught seven years in Philadelphia before moving to San Diego. She lives in the San Carlos neighborhood and is thrilled to be closer to home while teaching English and history at Henry. She states that she love the positivity found at Henry!

Jason Rogalski joined us this week and will be teaching art to year one students. He has an extensive background teaching in charter schools and is excited to join the Henry team at a comprehensive site.

Justin Nguyen is happy to join the Henry team after his first assignment teaching biology at UC High School last year. Though Mr. Nguyen is a new teacher, he came in strong with his background and interest in science.

Casey Spaulding comes from after being on active duty with the Navy. His last role was Command Trainer at the NRD in San Diego. Though this is Mr. Spaulding’s first year teaching NJROTC, he could not be a more welcomed fit in the department. He said he is impressed by the student’s enthusiasm to help others and work together, which could easily be said by us about him!

Mauricio Barrientos is a new counselor at Henry and is a much welcomed addition as we finally have a full-time counselor to serve our students. He will be working with students whose last name begins with the letters Me-Roe. Mr. Barrientos comes to us after working at Lincoln High School and has been a counselor for 12 years. Mr. Barrientos stated he likes the friendliness of the staff and students at Henry.

Harold “Monty” Hutchinson is returning to us as he was a student teacher several years ago. Last year, he worked at Point Loma High School and we are thrilled to have him join our World Language department teaching Spanish in our new building. This will be his fifth year teaching all levels. Mr. Hutchinson is loving having students who are respectful of one another and who aren’t “plugged in to earbuds all day!”

Freshmen football team has a new staff

Something new and unique is happening with Patriot Football throughout the program. PHHS is proud to let you know that our freshmen football program is led by an all-female coaching staff. Head Coach Eboni Chambers and other San Diego professional football players have been hired and have started the season off helping build our team for the future. Our coaching staff all played professionally for the San Diego Surge, our city’s professional team playing in the Women’s Football Alliance (WFA). Coach Chambers has played for the Surge since 2012 and now has the opportunity to bring all her knowledge of the game to our freshmen football players.

Chambers has experience playing offensive right and left guard, offensive left tackle, and defensive tackle/end. As a San Diego Surge player, she has been a part of two National Championships 2012, 2014 (with a 1-1 championship record). Surge defeated Chicago Force in 2012 as one of the first women’s football teams to play in an NFL stadium: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh. In addition to a National Championship, the San Diego Surge has competed in three American Conference Championships (2-1) and has a 63-10 overall franchise record. As a player for the San Diego Surge, Eboni has been awarded Rookie of the Year 2012; Women’s Football Alliance (WFA) Offensive All American 2014, 2015; Offensive Player of the Year (Surge) 2015; WFA Defensive All American 2017; Hall of Fame National Team 2017/2018; USA National Team 2017 (3-0 in tournament play), as offensive tackle (Gold).

In addition to playing, Chambers has coached players ages 7-13 with San Diego Youth Football & Cheer (SDYFC). She has been a coach with the Balboa Raiders and La Mesa/Grossmont Warriors organizations from 2012-present. She has been interim-head coach for Tiny Mites in 2013 and offensive line coach from 2015-present. As a coach, the Grossmont Warriors were Q-Bowl contenders 2016 and Balboa Raiders became Q-Bowl Champions (12-u) 2018 (10-0).

Chambers is born and raised in San Diego and graduated from Scripps Ranch High School 2003. She attended Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta with a BA in Psychology in 2007. She is joined by other players from the San Diego Surge team, Coach Tyler and Coach Strother.

Club Day kicks off the new school year at Henry

PHHS celebrated a great opening which included Club Day to help promote inclusiveness, fun, education, culture, and good health through our ASB Leadership team.

We have over 80 clubs on campus and the best way to add new members is by advertising them at lunch in a fun and creative way. Tables were set up around the quad spilling into the pathways with special posters and charts to explain the club’s purpose. A full list of over 80 different clubs is on our website with days and times when they meet.

One of my favorite clubs is the Circle of Friends because they promote making friends and community building activities for students who can struggle with making friends. Academic League, Mock Trial, Model United Nations, Art History, and Architecture and Engineering clubs are available for students who are interested in academic endeavors. Helping the Homeless, Hear Our Voice, Red Cross, and Key Club are all examples of clubs for students who want to participate in community service. We also have clubs that celebrate culture, religion, and hobbies for students who want to share common interests or learn about others.

The list is long and everyone is invited to participate in as many clubs as they have time for. Special thanks to the club advisors who provide leadership opportunities for our students and a place for them to meet.

— Elizabeth Gillingham is principal of Patrick Henry High School.

By Elizabeth Gillingham

New women’s basketball head coach

PHHS is thrilled to have named Branisha Jones as our new women’s varsity head coach. Branisha is a native San Diegan and began her career in basketball as a young girl playing at the Skyline Recreation Center. She fell in love with the game and began building valuable friendships with girls on her team and with her coach at the time, Patrick Tabor.

Branisha stated, “Throughout my time playing at the recreation level, my coach made it a point to instill a lot of discipline in us as a team. I personally took all of the lessons I learned from basketball and implemented them into real life situations. Coach Pat always reminded us that basketball was a privilege, so to treat it as such. I learned that respect, discipline, hustle and attitude were not only the tools I needed to play the game, but also to succeed in life. Coach Pat is the reason that I have the respect, knowledge and love for the game of basketball. May his knowledge and legacy live through me moving forward.”

Following recreation level basketball, she began to play for Morse High School as a freshman. She played one year of freshman basketball and followed that up with three years on varsity. She continued playing at the collegiate level at Southwestern Community College. She also began her coaching career by assisting at her high school alma mater for the next four years. She also started working at the city of San Diego Park and Recreation Department, where she now coaches multiple sports including basketball and volleyball for youth ages 6-15.

Banisha stated in an interview, “I am honored to now step in as the head coach of the Patrick Henry women’s basketball team and wish to create not only a genuine bond with my team but also challenge each and every player to reach their personal goals. I am excited to pass on every bit of expertise that was introduced to me.”

Open enrollment for SDUSD

Schools in San Diego Unified School District may enroll pupils who do not live in the neighborhood through the School Choice process. The Choice application period for school year 2020-21 will be from Monday, Oct. 1, through Nov. 13, 2019.

Choice applications to any Henry Cluster school should be submitted at this time:

Incoming TK/K sibling of current Choice pupil.

Child of any employee at our school who is interested in having their child(ren) attend any school in the Henry high school cluster.

Currently enrolled students who have recently moved, or will be moving out of our neighborhood but would like to continue enrollment at our school.

Currently enrolled magnet pupils who wish to articulate to the next level magnet program.

Students originally enrolled via Choice as SDUSD residents, who have moved, or are planning to move outside of the SDUSD boundaries into a different school district (Poway, La Mesa/Spring Valley, Chula Vista, etc.).

Students whose parents are interested in transitioning from a different school into ours.

Choice applications are not necessary for resident students, or students already accepted to our school via Choice who currently reside in the SDUSD boundaries.

If you know of any family that may be interested in our school, please invite them to attend a school’s tour. PHHS hosts tours on the first Wednesday of every month. For more information about our schools, please view any school’s website.

The 2020-21 Enrollment Options applications may be submitted online at sandiegounified.org/apply. For personal assistance, contact or visit the Family Welcome and Enrollment Center located at our district headquarters at the Eugene Brucker Education Center, 4100 Normal St., Annex 12, San Diego, 92103. Questions regarding the Choice process may be directed to 619-260-2410. The center is open to the public Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Student of the Month

Senior Brandon Reynolds was nominated for the Kiwanis student of the month and was honored last month at the Kiwanis Breakfast.

Principal Elizabeth Gillingham accompanied Brandon and his mom and she presented to the club why Brandon was selected. Brandon was nominated because of his initiative to make changes in a positive way. He doesn’t wait for someone to give him direction; if he sees something that needs to be done, he does it.

According to AP Environmental Science teacher Lara Dickens, “Brandon is a hero on campus. Yesterday, he put buckets under the AC condensation water drips. He’s collected a substantial amount! He plans to water the garden with it. Last year, he volunteered with the thrift store and performed campus cleanups regularly. He has photos that document the construction progress on campus over the last few years. He passionately follows its progress. Last year, in the late afternoons, he would volunteer to go weed and garden around campus and pick up trash.”

According to PHHS teacher Elise Morgan, “The effort I believe deserves the most recognition is his determination to eliminate weeds on campus. The appearance of the campus matters to him. He would often borrow a bucket from me and head to the parking lot to pull weeds out of the landscaping. He would work around the PHAME building. He did this on a regular basis, on his own. Brandon loves PHHS, and would love to share his passion with others.”

Brandon has also helped maintain the worm bins around campus and the compost bins. He is noted by all of his teachers for being very thoughtful and a genuinely decent person.

College information from Henry Counseling Team

College applications have opened up. Seniors interested in applying to four-year universities should be actively applying to campuses now. Below are three links for three different university systems. Patrick Henry counselors will be hosting a senior college application student-and-parent meeting Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. in our PHAME building. The meeting will go over specific university systems as well as applications. Everyone is welcome to attend and it’s free.

CSU application: Open Oct. 1, 2019; deadline Nov. 30, 2019. Application at calstate.edu/apply.

UC application: Open Nov. 1, 2019; deadline Nov. 30, 2019. Application at bit.ly/336R1mr.

Common application: Currently open; deadline on various dates. University application found at commonapp.org.

— Elizabeth Gillingham is principal of Patrick Henry High School.

By Elizabeth Gillingham

Girls Tennis earns CIF seed

Following an incredible 2018 season with a CIF Championship, the tennis program earned promotion to CIF Division 1 and the City Conference Western League to compete against the best teams in the county every match. Coach Ronney knew that it would be a difficult challenge however had reason for optimism because she knew the fight of each individual player and the collective mindset and will to win.

The Patriots demonstrated that tenacity all season long with an early season tournament championship, huge non-league victories over Point Loma, Granite Hills, Grossmont, and Valhalla. With Western League competition came gritty victories over power schools Cathedral (twice!), Scripps Ranch (twice!), and Academy LOP (twice!). Finishing with a 6-4 league record, and earning the No. 3 seed in the Division 1 playoffs is an incredible accomplishment!

Del Mar Fair winners from PHHS

Photography students from throughout San Diego submitted pieces of their work to the San Diego County Fair this past summer. From the hundreds of photos submitted, Patrick Henry High School students took home two “Best in Show” Awards out of the 12 categories for the first-year photography students in grades 9–12.

Congratulations to Devin Chubb (Class of 2022) for Digital Photo Composite of a butterfly made up of butterflies and Tiffany La (Class of 2021) for Digital Manipulation of a pizza cutter. Patrick Henry offers its students three different photography courses and students of all levels submitted photos winning many first and second place ribbons to list. In addition to the two Best in Show awards these are some of the other first place winners (list is incomplete as projects were picked up over the summer by the winners):

• Louisa Robinson – Black & White / Color
• Alyna Uribe – Digital Manipulation
• Emily Hill – Black & White / Color
• Elianna Castillo – Digital Manipulation
• Jenna Kotyk – Color
• Jacqui Bagalini – Color
• Khang Diep – Digital Manipulation
• Devin Chubb – Color
• Mya Galloway – Black & White / Color
• Malia Daft – Color
• Alexis Kovacevic – Color / Digital Manipulation / San Diego County Lifestyles
• Jilma Guzman – Color
• Bella Carillo – Color
• Kylie Palmer – Color
• Ben Manis – Black & White
• Megan Cheever – Color
• Evelyn Gutierrez – Color
• Lilly Hubbell – Digital Manipulation

San Diego Museum of Art Teen Council

PHHS would like to recognize the following students who have applied and been accepted to participate on the San Diego Museum of Art Teen Council program:

• Bianca Smith
• Erin Graham
• Hannah Richardson
• Isabella Nguyen
• Kirsten Lockart-Haytt
• Lily Thomas
• Maria Preciado
• Marissa Crispino
• Olivander Wheelan

The council meets multiple times throughout the year to share ideas, develop youth events and programming, and participate in unique behind-the-scenes experiences at the museum. Participating students will also have an opportunity to make friends with similar interests, meet local artists, Develop leadership skills and add unique experiences towards their college applications.

Student of the Month

PHHS is proud to name Samantha Linden as our October Student of the Month.

At the Grantville Allied Gardens Kiwanis monthly meeting, vice principal Bill Miller was in attendance to recognize her. He stated in his speech during the meeting, “Samantha has been absolutely instrumental in ASB in trying to transform the culture at PHHS. She works diligently, is a strong leader that never asks others what she isn’t willing to do herself or is already doing! She started ‘Spirit Attacks’ on campus that is now an ongoing tradition at PHHS. Her teachers have the utmost confidence that she will follow through on anything that she commits to. She is also involved in our Patriot Pups program at Henry and loves working with kids. She is looking forward to being assigned to a local elementary school and start working in the classroom as soon as possible.”

Samantha makes Henry a better place because of her ongoing commitment to our student leadership team and the help she gives to our community. She is currently working her college applications and she is applying to many different colleges all across the U.S. She is keeping her options open and does not have a top pick at this moment.

We wish her all the best in what is sure to be a successful future. Great job Samantha!

PHAME Calendar

Performing Arts Center at Patrick Henry High School Calendar – most events sell tickets for $10 each unless noted otherwise. Please check our website for updates as some events are subject to change:

• Dec. 5 – PHHS Improv Show (mature audiences), at 6 p.m.
• Dec. 3 – Green Elementary Holiday Sing, 4 p.m.–7:15 p.m
• Dec. 5 – Green Elementary Holiday Sing, 5:15–7:15 p.m.
• Dec. 7 – Tuba Christmas in San Diego; Free entrance at 1 p.m
• Dec. 12 – PHHS Choir Concert, 6 p.m.
•  Dec. 19 – PHHS Instrumental Music Concert, 6 p.m.
• Feb. 5–9 – PHHS Drama Dept. presents “Fiddler on the Roof,” nightly at 6 p.m.
• Feb.. 20 – PHHS Airband Concert, 6 p.m.
• Feb. 25–26 – VAPA Choral Showcase, nightly at 6 p.m.
• March 5–6 – Hearst Elementary Talent Show, 6 pm., FREE!
• March 19 – PHHS ASB presents their Variety/Improv Night at 6 p.m.
• March TBA – PHHS Choir Concert, at 6 p.m. (see website for date)
• April TBA – PHHS Pops Concert in PHAME at 6 p.m. (see website for date)
• May 21 – PHHS Choir Concert, at 6 p.m.
• May 27 – PHHS Instru­mental Music Concert, at 6 p.m.

National Merit Scholarship semifinalist

PHHS is proud to announce that we had four students named as a Commended Student in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended students placed among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2020 competition by taking the 2018 preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

“Those being named Commended Students have demonstrated outstanding potential for academic success,” commented NMSC spokesperson.

Congratulations to seniors Timber S. Carey, Kieran W. Hilmer, Chloe L. Morris, and Theordore M. Schenck for their hard work and dedication towards excellence in their academic endeavors.

— Elizabeth Gillingham is principal of Patrick Henry High School.

By Elizabeth Gillingham

PHHS Student of the Month

Alyssa Lozano was nominated as our Kiwanis’ student of the month for November because of her dedication to the students and staff at Patrick Henry High School.

Vice Principal Jennifer Pacofsky stated, “Alyssa always has a smile on her face and goes out of her way to acknowledge everyone on campus.”

Her teachers describe her as, “simply amazing! She is kind, caring, genuine, and an all-around good-hearted person.”

Alyssa does so much for her school and peers. She is a peer tutor for students with moderate-to-severe disabilities, cheer captain, president of Circle of Friends, and is president of Drama Club. Not a day goes by that she won’t make time for someone or help out someone in need. She goes above and beyond for everyone to make them feel included, important, and lets them know that they matter. She has great leadership abilities and is a great role model to all she comes in contact with.

Her theater teacher, Mrs. Chris Carr, described her as an excellent role model, a leader, and a mentor. She stated, “Alyssa not only makes sure every student in my class feels included in our activities and productions but makes them feel confident and comfortable on stage.”

Her cheer advisor, Mrs. Terri Clark, described her as the “first person to step up and lead. Whether it’s in cheer or her drama classes, she is a leader through and through. She leads with respect for others and a work ethic that shows she’s not afraid to work hard and follow through, even when others don’t. She is a pleasure to teach, coach, and watch grow into an amazing young adult.”

Alyssa has a heart for those with special needs and when the students were asked about her they said, “She is my friend. I am proud of her. She always helps me with drama class and she makes me laugh. She always helps me and gives me high fives. She is very good. I love her smile. Alyssa is funny. We love Alyssa.”

We know that Alyssa has a great future ahead of her and we can’t wait to see where her leadership skills will take her. She has a tremendous heart, work ethic and grit — three characteristics that you cannot teach.

PHHS Marching Band rocks

Last month, PHHS Spirit of 76 Marching Band was seen all over San Diego County performing and showing off their talents both on the football field for our fans and on the streets competing against other bands.

The Marching Patriots performed a near-sweep at the Mira Mesa Field Tournament and Band Review, winning first-place awards in our division in Field Show for both Band and Color Guard and a second-place finish for our percussion team. We also took first place in our division for Parade Review. This is an exciting conclusion to our field tournament season.

The band also participated in the annual Veterans Day Parade for the community and participated in the Arcadia Festival of Bands that took place on Saturday, Nov. 23, where they marched in a Parade Review.

National Letter of Intent Signing Day at Petco Park

Olivia Tracey, Max Jones, Mateo Medina, and Lauren Nett were all recognized and awarded athletic scholarships to their perspective colleges. Each student signed a letter of intent to study and play in a sport.

Olivia signed to go to Loyola Maryland to play Division 1 tennis. Max is going to University of San Francisco to play Division 1 baseball as a pitcher; Mateo is a baseball center fielder is on his way to the San Francisco State University; and Lauren is playing at Boston University as a softball utility player.

We are proud to have these students recognized by their coaches and future universities and wish them well next year!

Photography students in the community

Henry photography students Tessa Gervase (Class of 2021) and Marlena Bunch (Class of 2022) were selected to be photographers at the Blue Tech Gala during Blue Tech Week. This local convention was devoted toward businesses with renewable and sustainable resources. It was held at the Sheraton Bay Tower Hotel and Marina on Harbor Island in San Diego

Photography teacher, Mr. Thom Hunt, attended the conference and got to see them share their talents with others in this professional setting.

In addition, Malia Daft (Class of 2021) had her photo selected to be used for the cover of the holiday card for San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Cindy Marten. It is the second year in a row that a Patrick Henry photography student has been honored to be featured on the annual gift cards given out by Mrs. Marten.

Unified Physical Education at Patrick Henry

[Editor’s note: This section is written by PE teacher Terri Clark]

This year, I have been given the unique opportunity to be a part of Unified Physical Education at Patrick Henry High School. I am partnering with our Adapted Physical Education specialist Chris Ahrens to create a more inclusive and comprehensive approach to providing quality physical education for all of my students.

Unified Physical Education is a unique program that allows students with all types and ranges of disabilities to participate, to the best of their abilities, in a general education physical education class alongside their peers. It typically looks like 10 to 15 students with special needs who are mainstreamed into general education physical education classes. Special needs students are paired up with mainstream students who act as peer buddies to assist with the learning process in class.

When I was first approached with this opportunity, I gave an enthusiastic “yes” to Mr. Ahrens, though I had no real idea what I was saying yes to. What I did know was that over the past four to five years at Patrick Henry, I have had a few special education students mainstreamed into my classes, working to provide them with the least restrictive environment to experience high school physical education, and I liked what came from those experiences. What I learned alongside my students was that every student has the potential to grow, develop, and gain new skills and knowledge when they are in an environment that provides social, emotional and physical support to do so. What I also learned was that my students grew in compassion, empathy and understanding for other students who were different from themselves.

What I am learning so far this year: high school students are so much more capable of kindness and compassion than they are ever given credit for (I witness it every day); change does not come easily, but it’s well worth the work; and that even the most physically challenged students are capable of participation in physical education when given the right opportunities and environment.

There are a few amazing programs like Unified Physical Education that exist at Patrick Henry: Circle of Friends, Peer Buddies, Athletes Training Athletes and Special Olympics are the ones that come to mind. I’m very proud of the work Patrick Henry is doing to include, teach and provide equitable experiences for all students.

— Elizabeth Gillingham is principal of Patrick Henry High School.

By  Elizabeth Gillingham

Circle of Friends annual dance

On Friday, Dec. 6, the Circle of Friends Club held their Winter Wonderland Dance at Ascension Lutheran Church in Allied Gardens.

Parents had the chance to see their children interacting in a fun, accepting, safe and wonderful environment. Students pitched in to set up, break down, contributed food and drinks and supported the club’s objective of providing positive interaction both in and outside the school environment and to help the students with special needs grow socially.

“Ms. Reitman and I are always grateful when other teachers support our efforts. Lisa Achenbach, our new speech and language pathologist joined us for the first time, and English teacher Katie Scarafone and our new moderate to severe special education teacher Chelsea Scarafone were in attendance — a mother-and-daughter teaching team,” said club advisor Jim Achenbach. “I’m always really impressed when our support staff turns out.”

The following special education technicians also came this year: Tiffany Newman, Stephanie Nenigar, Russ Hall and Jessica Villa.

Articulation night

PHHS is happy to host our annual eighth grade articulation night to help families understand the process of enrolling their student for the fall at Henry. Everyone is invited to join us on Tuesday, Feb. 4, in PHAME (Patrick Henry Arts, Media and Entertainment) Center. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. and is scheduled to last one hour.

At articulation night, you will learn about:

New student enrollment (by appointment, call 619-286-7700)

Course offerings/selections

Graduation requirements

College entrance preparation

The eighth grade tour and pep rally coming on March 20 from 10-11:30 a.m. (All families are welcome, please put this date on your calendar.) Students from Lewis and Pershing will arrive on a school bus but all local schools are encouraged to join us as well.

You will also have the opportunity to meet the PHHS counselors!

Student of the Month

We are proud to have Zyah Cephus named as Patrick Henry High School’s Student of the Month for December. She received this recognition due to her involvement in many student activities on campus and the glowing recommendations from her teachers and advisors.

Zyah is one of the standouts in our Choir Department. She has a tremendous voice and she sang the national anthem at our fall pep rally!

She has also been a member of our cheer program for all four years at Henry. She is a student athlete who is a leader on and off the field and court.

Zyah can always be counted on to support her teammates, provide words of encouragement and sets a good example for all. She is also the AVID Club secretary and the president of Henry’s BSU (Black Student Union).

This year as BSU president, Zyah helped organize a field trip to SDSU and is about to start a volunteer group at Green Elementary to help tutor/mentor the elementary school kids. This volunteer effort will include many more members of the BSU and the plan is to go there bi-monthly during late start Mondays.

One of Zyah’s teachers said the following: “She has been a pleasure to teach, coach and have in class. She is one of those students who leads by example and her joy and enthusiasm are contagious. Zyah is an awesome leader in my class and always brings a positive attitude. She’s such a pleasure to have in class because she not only is super positive and kind with all of her peers, but she also works hard to create the best work she can. Some of her greatest gifts are bringing people together in community, an energetic FUN and infectious spirit, and she’s always willing to help and go above and beyond what is asked of her. She is most-deserving of this honor.”

Unicef Club holds ‘Big Sleep Out’

PHHS’s UNICEF Club hosted the first ever “Big Sleep Out” as a fundraiser on Dec. 7. The Big Sleep Out involved spending the night “under the stars” at Henry in the quad as an act of solidarity with the homeless population across the globe.

The fundraiser was hosted and endorsed by UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund). UNICEF aids more than 1,990 countries faced with disaster. The Big Sleep Out was meant to give students a tiny insight into the reality of homelessness. Another hope was to send a message to the world’s political leaders to enact compassionate policy or find solutions for homelessness locally and the global refugee crisis that affects us all.

Club advisor Nicole Sakelios and teacher Karl Bolton sponsored the event with the help of club president Layla Karim. The night included playing board games, watching videos about homelessness problems, eating pizza, and sleeping outside on a cold December night (which included rain).

“We had a great turnout, 25 of my fellow students came to Henry with their sleeping bags in hand, ready to spend have a sleepover under the stars at school,” Karim reported after the event. “All participants, myself included, had such a fun, valuable experience watching movies, eating pizza, and playing spikeball. Although the ground was wet from rain and temperatures reached the 40s, the next morning we all debriefed the event and came to the consensus that having a bed to sleep in and a roof over our heads are privileges that we should never take for granted. The act of sleeping outdoors on the hard concrete, in similar conditions faced by homeless every day, allowed us to show our solidarity with the 70.1 million refugees and homeless globally. Coordinating and participating in this event was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that has broadened my gratitude and completely transformed my outlook on homelessness. I’m extremely grateful for participants’ cooperation, Henry faculty’s support, and UNICEF Club officers for allowing me the opportunity to bring UNICEF’s Big Sleep Out event to my community.”

PHHS robotics program needs mentors

Patrick Henry Patribots program is looking for mentors. Can you help? Please fill out the form through the link provided below. They’re looking for mentors in the following areas:

• Programming (Java)
• Design (SolidWorks/CAD)
• Electrical, pneumatics
• Build (fabricating parts)
• Marketing (sponsor letters, etc.)
• Financial (budgeting)
• Carpentry (building the practice field)

Times and commitments are flexible, anything from five hours and up. With some areas, such as marketing or finances, it can be a mix of classroom time with the kids and email for follow up.

We are going to need people to support the team from Jan. 4-April 1. Meetings occur at 9 a.m.-9 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, and after school until 9 p.m.

To volunteer, fill out the online form found at bit.ly/39yx8bb.

Henry choir shines on KUSI performance

The award-winning Patrick Henry High School Choir performed on KUSI’s “Good Morning San Diego” on Thursday, Dec. 5. The local school’s on-air performance of “Christmas on Broadway” and “Silver Bells” were featured in the annual “Songs of The Holiday Season” that aired Dec. 24 at 8 p.m. and Christmas Day at 11 a.m. on KUSI.

Each year, only a few school choirs out of hundreds are selected for this wonderful opportunity. It’s the second year Patrick Henry High’s Bel Canto choir has been tabbed to perform live on air and at least the fourth year in a row they were featured in the annual holiday program.

The group’s in-studio performance earned applause from the cast and crew of the morning show and an emotional reaction from one of the experienced volunteers on hand to usher the students on and off stage.

“It’s the first time in 10 years that a choir has made me cry,” said Debra Brallas, after hearing Bel’s rendition of “Christmas On Broadway.”

A community member, Barbara Martinez, sent Principal Gillingham the following note after hearing the performance, “I heard your choir sing this morning on KUSI. I would like to say I thought they were just awesome! They were so sharp and the medley was perfect. Please pass on to the gifted group of students and the faculty involved how wonderful they sounded, as well as the stunning presentation as the students performed. It was a real pleasure.”

The upbeat holiday medley was also featured in the group’s Winter Concert held Dec. 12.

Patrick Henry cheer competes in first CIF competition

The Patrick Henry cheer team went to its first CIF competition on Dec. 7, at Carlsbad High School where the team took third overall in the “Spirit Side-Line” category.

Henry had a perfect score on its side-line spirit cheer. The cheer team would have been more competitive, however 10 minutes prior to the final performance, there was an injury that caused a few last-minute changes, including re-working two whole stunt groups, that caused the team to lose a few points overall.

“I’m super proud of our team for the first efforts in the competitive arena,” said cheer coach advisor Terri Clark. “They worked really hard over the past month.”

Henry presents ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ at PHAME!

Winner of nine Tony Awards in 1965 and still touching audiences worldwide today with its humor, warmth and honesty, “Fiddler on the Roof” is a musical theater tradition.

Set in the little village of Anatevka, the story centers on Tevye, a poor dairyman, and his five daughters. With the help of a colorful and tight-knit Jewish community, Tevye tries to protect his daughters and instill them with tradition in the face of changing social mores and growing anti-Semitism of Czarist Russia.

Rich in historical and ethnic detail, this universal theme cuts across barriers of race, class, nationality, and religion, leaving audiences crying tears of laughter, joy and sadness.

The vision of this production’s creative team is to preserve the honesty of the period, yet create an experience for the audience that is both uplifting and historically accurate. “Fiddler on the Roof” is one of the best written stories in musical theater history. Its universal themes of the importance of tradition in community, the conflict between generations, the struggle of co-existing cultures, and the strength of family touch us all.

Bringing this vision to PHAME! will be artistic director Christine Carr, technical director Matthew Kalal, costume designer Jan Wilson, choreographers Chelsea Montgomery and Astrid Pett, and music director Luis Sherlinlee.

Also helping lead the way are the following students: stage manager Joel Tanner, assistant stage manager Brianna Aguilera, orchestra conductor Ethan Ackland, lighting tech Laura Schull, sound tech Cori Andrews-McIntosh, and actor/singer Diego Luis Sherlinlee as Tevye. In addition is a very, very talented group of actors, singers, dancers, musicians and crew who will be working hard to complete this wonderful show!

Don’t miss this universal story of hope, love and acceptance, a stunning, joyful and jubilant musical masterpiece. “Fiddler on the Roof” runs Feb. 6-8 at 6 p.m. in the PHAME! theater on the Patrick Henry campus. There will also be a special matinee performance Sunday, Feb. 9, at 2 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the ticket office 30 minutes prior to showtime. Check the Patrick Henry website for more details to come.

Patrick Henry Teacher of the Year

Patrick Henry High School is proud to announce that World Language Department chairperson and Spanish teacher extraordinaire Mr. Edward Stanko was named as our Teacher of the Year for 2020!

Stanko was born and raised in San Diego. From birth to 4 years of age, he spent weekdays with his grandparents while his parents were busy working; his grandparents, David and Mary Diaz, would speak to him and spend time with him in Spanish, and it was during these years that his exposure to the Spanish language and culture began. All throughout his childhood, he would be exposed on a daily basis to Spanish and English, and would experience the culture — including his favorite tradition of the tamalada — when his family would gather to make tamales, a traditional Mexican food made during the holidays.

When Stanko was a freshman at Mt. Carmel High School, a California Distinguished School in San Diego’s North County, he began his formal study of Spanish and excelled in it all through high school. It was during his junior year of high school that he knew he wanted to teach Spanish. He majored in World Literature at UC San Diego, received his teaching credential from CSU San Marcos, and in 2018, earned his MAT (Master of Arts in Teaching) from SDSU. He is currently working on his second master’s degree in Foreign Language Teaching from Michigan State University via their online program.

Stanko’s philosophy of teaching language is simple: “As language teachers, we need to be teaching in the language, making it accessible to all students, rather than teaching about the language.” He believes in the power of comprehensible input, showing students that it is possible to understand and communicate with Spanish, and that communication is not simply a conjugation list of verbs in the different tenses. He emphasizes that language is much more than what we traditionally think of such as translating and conjugating accurately; language is culture, communication, and the ability to see the world and its peoples through another lens.

As the World Language Department chair, Stanko has shared his teaching philosophy with the department and district through special pull out meetings. He is credited for transforming the language department from using worksheets and book work toward using real world texts, articles, songs, and short stories that carry interesting facts for the students grappling with translating the information. It has made learning language fun and interesting as students are able to respond to the new vocabulary as it’s introduced in the text.

Mr. Stanko is admired and loved by his students because he makes learning Spanish fun and interesting every day.

— Elizabeth Gillingham is principal of Patrick Henry High School.

25,320 Acts of Kindness Quest

PHHS is driven on character education, which can extend into avenues all across out campus. The goal of the Acts of Kindness Quest was to have every student on campus, in six minutes, send out at least 10 messages of kindness out to the universe — 25,320 acts of kindness.

This project is the culmination of other activities that include making an all-school art piece out of strips of paper where students publicly thanked someone (2,532 strips making a giant peace sign) to be displayed. If you’ve seen the giant starry night mural on campus, the idea is similar.

Students also wrote one thoughtful thank you card and read an excerpt from the handout “Congratulations, By the Way” by George Saunders.

Henry dancers get the Dinsney experience

On Dec. 6, PHHS junior varsity and varsity dance teams embarked on a Disney Adventure. After raising funds and getting administrative approval, the PHHS dance teams headed off to California Adventure Park to have a behind-the-scenes Disney experience.

The dancers entered the park in the morning where they were free to enjoy California Adventure theme park and all it had to offer. Later that day, each team participated in a Disney Performing Arts Workshop. The purpose of this trip was to give our dance team exposure to dance opportunities outside the world of high school dance teams.

Each of the teams had the opportunity to go behind the scenes at Disney’s California Adventure Park and participate in a hip-hop dance workshop taught by a Disney professional. The dancers had the opportunity to learn from a Disney professional who works on the Disney TV side of the Disney entertainment world. During the workshop, dancers gleaned tips, techniques and insight as to how to navigate auditions in the professional world of dance. Dancers were taught a routine, asked to perform and then received feedback about their performance that would help them improve as a dancer.

Many of the dance team members expressed gratitude for the opportunity to learn from a professional in the field of dance, as well as an opportunity to spend a day with their team enjoying the magical world of Disney.

If you have attended a dance team performance at PHHS, you have contributed to this learning experience for our dance team members, and we thank you for your support!

Community members supporting Avid classes

Allison Younghans and Marissa Lue from Illumina, a biotech company in La Jolla, graciously came to present to our AVID students on Jan. 9. They spoke to four AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) classes, ninth through 12th grades. Both presenters spoke about their college path, how they chose their college, some obstacles in their journey and how they overcame them, as well as their career paths.

Students in the AVID program were able to broaden their perspective about possible career paths and major courses of study they might not have considered. AVID is an elective class that focuses on getting underrepresented students into college. AVID instructors focus on developing communication skills, tutoring to support an advanced level course load for the students, and creating a college-going culture both in the classroom and around the school.

For more information, contact Patrick Schoettler at pschoettler@sandi.net.

Henry partners with I Love a Clean San Diego

Last November, I Love a Clean San Diego (ILACSD) celebrated its 65th anniversary of being an environmental nonprofit.

Being the longest-running environmental organization in San Diego is something to celebrate but for everyone living around Patrick Henry High School, there is a lot more to recognize. Henry is one of three very lucky high schools in their Think Blue Brigade (TBB) program. As their website states, “ILACSD and City of San Diego’s Think Blue Brigade is a an environmental awareness program that partners with existing environmental clubs on high school campuses within the City of San Diego. Think Blue Brigade members receive visits from specialists about environmental topics, as well as participate in regional off-site events, including cleanups, field trips, tours, and more!”

Henry’s TBB students have toured Scripps Pier and research facility, dissected albatross boluses, observed living plankton under a microscope, toured the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant and had opportunities to network with professionals in environmental fields. In May, ILACSD is hosting a tour of the Miramar Landfill for 50 Henry students.

Henry also has three students involved in their Student Impact Committee (SIC). These students work with other motivated students from all over San Diego to organize events that address waste management issues in their communities.

Hopefully you have noticed the “I Live Down Stream” stencils over storm drains in the area. Through ILACSD’s volunteer program, students have checked out paint and stencils to label storm drains to make sure it is understood that whatever goes down the storm drain will end up in the ocean. Litter, yard trimmings, and motor oil are not welcome.

ILACSD still supports cleanup events but they are proactively working to prevent litter by inspiring students to research environmental careers or, at the least, help communities do better at minimizing their impact on the environment. Patrick Henry loves I Love a Clean San Diego. Supporting ILACSD supports student service-learning in our community. Check out their website at ilacsd.org and see how you can be a part of the movement.

Henry Engineering Team wants incoming freshmen

Patrick Henry’s Engineering Academy is accepting applications. Are you interested in a fun project-based elective course series that will teach you skills used by real engineers?

Patrick Henry has the largest engineering program in a public high school in the state of California. With four dedicated teachers, we offer nine total courses in three pathways — Engineering Design, Engineering & Architecture and Computer Science. Most of our courses are articulated for honors credit and our students have the opportunity to participate in field trips, clubs (including Society of Women Engineers and FIRST Robotics), community college credit for select classes, special internship and scholarship opportunities, and networking with industry professionals.

We accept all applicants on a first-come, first-served basis until classes are full. No prior experience in engineering is needed. For more information or to apply, please visit patrickhenryeda.org or contact Mrs. Moy at emoy@sandi.net.

PHHS Student of the Month

We are proud to have David Harimana named as Patrick Henry High School’s Student of the Month for January’s Kiwanis meeting held last month. Principal Listy Gillingham attended the meeting with David and said a hard work ethic, dedication to education, and overall solid character is what set him apart from other seniors at Henry.

Harimana has run for the Patrick Henry cross-country and track teams since his freshman year. Coach Myette has worked with him in a variety of capacities and shared this account about him when recommending him for the student of the month: “David’s impact on the team was immediate. Along with a great work ethic, David’s passion, commitment, and sacrifice makes him a great teammate and leader. In addition to success on the track and in cross-country, David knows six languages, taught himself how to program in Java by watching YouTube videos, and built his own drone. If that were not enough, you can listen to his alter ego, DJ ProUp, who has created his own music videos much to the delight of his teammates, peers, and coaches (check out his YouTube channel). Immigrating to the United States from the Democratic Republic of the Congo via Uganda, David’s remarkable life experience carries over into everything he does. He embraces every opportunity with joy, laughter, and gratitude. It is therefore fitting that he be selected as the Student of the Month.”

David’s math teacher from his junior year also was taken by David’s focus, hard work ethic, and positive nature. “David spreads positivity and has an impeccable work ethic,” she reported. “He embraces the academic challenge, and the harder a problem or assignment seems, the more enthusiastic he was about tackling it. He actually let out an audible ‘yes!’ in math last year in his Advanced Integrated Math 3 class when they were doing something that appeared kind of ugly at first glance.”

Another teacher reported that “David is the kind of student you think about when planning a lesson — the kind who gives it his absolute all and who you don’t want to let down by delivering anything but the best you can on any particular day, the kind who makes you feel like they deserve nothing than the best that you can offer. His presence makes Henry a better place and I can’t wait to see where his hard work and good attitude will take him.”

Knowing that he immigrated to the U.S. in middle school and has recently become an American citizen through his journey from Mann Middle School to Henry High School, makes us all proud to know him and honor him as one of Henry’s best.

Service-learning opportunity

Henry seniors Valerie Crisologo and Emily Donahue traveled to Bayahibe, Dominican Republic for a service-learning tour with their marine science teacher Ann Wegmann as part of a study abroad program/internship.

The girls partnered with students from Minnesota and FUNDEMAR, a local marine conservation group, to work on coral reef restoration and marine life monitoring. During their weeklong stay, Valerie and Emily conducted animal surveys in the seagrass beds off the coast of Saona Island, learned about the impact invasive lionfish have had on the local ecosystem, recorded the health of the coral reef through transect surveys, conducted a plastic pollution audit, and constructed materials needed to create a coral nursery.

During their free time, they learned how to cook traditional Dominican meals, played beach games with local children, made jewelry out of seeds and shells, and brushed up on their Spanish speaking skills.

Educational, service, and leadership trips are available to area students that will be in the ninth grade through 20 years of age. Interested parties can contact Mrs. Wegmann for more details at awegmann@sandi.net

Baseball players with college commitments lead team

Patrick Henry Baseball is tied for third in the county with three players that already have college commitments to play baseball at four-year schools.

Coming off a season in which they won their league with a 23-8-1 overall record and an 11-1 record in league schools, people are starting to take notice. With a new facility and a lot of young talent in the program, the future is very bright:

Max Jones: City League Pitcher of the year has committed to the University of San Francisco, which competes in the WCC with USD.

Mateo Medina: First-team, all-league selection has committed to D2 San Francisco State. SFSU competes in one of the toughest D2 conferences with UCSD.

Ryan Ellis: A 6-foot, 5-inch sophomore, Ellis will not graduate until 2022 but has shown enough for the University of New Mexico to offer him a scholarship. UNM competes in the Mountain West with SDSU.

— Elizabeth Gillingham is principal of Patrick Henry High School.

By Elizabeth Gillingham

Patrick Henry Mock Trial Team

The County of San Diego offers a High School Mock Trial program to promote an understanding and respect for the American legal system.

According to their website, “The program seeks to develop high school students into better citizens by familiarizing them with our Constitution and Bill of Rights through a mock trial competition enhancing students’ ability to think critically, communicate effectively, and work as a team as well as with other members of society. The San Diego County High School Mock Trial Competition and Program are administered by the San Diego County High School Mock Trial Committee, which is chaired by representatives of the San Diego County Superior Court and the San Diego County Bar Association. Representing local law agencies and organizations, and the state and federal courts, committee members devote hundreds of hours of volunteer time, as well as resources and expertise, to organize and conduct the annual competition.”

Mr. Kevin Kelly serves as our attorney coach of the PHHS Mock Trial Team and reported that they have just completed the 2019-20 campaign in impressive fashion. He stated, “The Mock Trial Team competes on a county-wide level and includes approximately 600 students across 32 high schools. The program is an after-school activity that can be fairly characterized as intellectually demanding, requiring students to prepare and take to trial a criminal case from pre-trial motions to verdict. It requires students to research facts, analyze the law, organize their thoughts, prepare witnesses, anticipate opposing positions, and present arguments to a judge. It is intense, extremely competitive, and attracts only the most highly motivated students in the San Diego area. In a word, the mock trial competition is hard. As a coach, I am privileged — alongside co-coach Ken Medel and teacher-advisor extraordinaire Jenny Ronco — to work with my team for several hours per week from September through February.”

Mr. Kelly was proud to report PHHS student Dillon Broderick won this year an award for Outstanding Pre-Trial Attorney. This impressive distinction brings great honor to himself, his parents, the team, and PHHS.

PHHS celebrates the great work of our team and recognizes the following students for their commitment and dedication: Adia Feigner, Allea Exxum, Alli Grimm, Andrea Zayas Conner, Aviel Cleveland, Brandon Guerra, Cameron Blakey, Claire Sutliff, Dillon Broderick, Hannah Murray, Ines Laimenche, Iris Drake, Jackson Miller, Jonn Segovia, Jenny Russell, Kayla Duong, Kellen Foster, Kiana Hawthorne, Kiersten Waters, Lily McDonald, Lily Stockdale, Maddie Filner, Maddie White, Matthew Dollman, Miriam Rosen, Samira Hassan, Trenna O’Harran and Via Ruiz.

For more information, visit the SD Mock Trial website at: sdmocktrial.org/.

February Student of the Month

Sergio Rynard was selected as our Student of the Month for February.

“He is an amazing student and has excelled during his four years at Patrick Henry High School,” stated Vice Principal Bill Miller during the monthly breakfast held by the Allied Gardens Kiwanis club.

Rynard has challenged himself by taking multiple AP classes and has been a member of our Associated Student Body program during his entire tenure at Henry. He serves this year as our ASB president and is credited for bringing unity and a positive energy to the team.

Here are some of the great things that teachers have said about Sergio:

“He’s a very gracious and thoughtful student. He is extremely active in ASB and takes his leadership position seriously.”

“Sergio is one of the best counseling monitors we have ever had — very friendly, helpful and great leadership skills.”

“Sergio brings a unique and valued insight to ERWC every day. With a voice that is strong and powerful, Sergio makes those around him better, challenging them to question the status quo. He is well liked by his peers and this teacher.”

“We are certainly fortunate to have Sergio in class, and he is more than deserving of this recognition.”

“Sergio is a very kind, caring soul. He is responsible, honest, trustworthy, and I can only hope that my own children will learn and practice all of the same qualities. Hats off to Sergio!”

“Sergio is a leader in every sense of the word. He is dedicated, he has vision, and he never asks something of his ASB that he isn’t willing to do himself (and honestly is doing right alongside them every step of the way). He sees strengths in others and is passionate about helping his fellow ASB to embrace their strengths and use them for the good of the class and the school. I cannot sing his praises enough, a few sentences cannot do justice. I cannot imagine ASB next year without him — does he have to be a senior already?!”

Patrick Henry celebrates Black History Month

Black History Month was established in 1926 in the United States and was chosen to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. It began as a way of remembering important people and events in history with the primary goal of teaching lessons about black American history in our nation’s public schools.

In today’s world, I’d like to think we integrate it all year, however this year, our Black Student Union club (BSU) coordinated some schoolwide activities which fostered this spirit. BSU club president Zyah Cephus and vice president Aeisha Osman wanted to write articles for the broadcast news to air weekly stories about influential people who have made a difference in our country. They also wanted to bring a special presentation for the students at Henry. They wanted to invite Nate Howard, who spoke at the district’s African American Summit to student leaders across the district, to visit Henry. We emailed him and once he heard who was asking and why, he waived his presentation fee and accepted a small grant (to cover travel expenses from Los Angeles to San Diego) from our PHHS Foundation.

The presentation he gave to a crowd of more than 400 students was about breaking away from stereotypes and writing your own story about who you are. Howard’s positive messages were given through his original poetry and by being a strong presence on the stage encouraging the students to participate in various ways. Students were asked to reflect on moments in their lives that were life changing and how that affects who they are today. He asked them to consider writing and telling their story rather than allowing others to do so.

Howard is a noted speaker who graduated from USC. He is the founder of an organization named Movement Be and spends time in after-school programs to inspire others to use poetry and writing as a form to express themselves.

After the event, students were encouraged to give the speaker feedback and one student in the crowd wrote, “I wanted to let you know that it was very special hearing you guys speak at Patrick Henry. My skin isn’t of color, so at first when I was invited, I didn’t feel welcome but you guys made it a lot easier to cope with others in the room. I went home that day after the presentation and told my mom everything that happened.”

Our BSU club has done a wonderful job in celebrating the outstanding work of others, but more importantly, they are focused on being a positive presence on our campus and on other campuses as well. They have taken on a special partnership with Green Elementary where club members volunteer every late-start Monday, by spending on hour on their campus reading to and mentoring young students selected to participate by the Green principal.

Principal Sandra McClure sent the following shout-out to our students for their support and help. She stated, “For the last few months, our Green students have worked in partnership with Henry’s Black Student Union. The Henry Patriots have been mentors to our Green Geckos. In order to make our meetings possible, our Henry BSU members wake up an hour early on their late-start days to meet with our kids. Together they discuss role models, positive characteristics, and even model exemplary ‘Playground Behavior.’ Our Henry students plan out the lessons and activities, and then come work side by side with our students. This is all done on their own time! We have 24 Green Geckos who have signed up for this opportunity, and there are about 10 Henry mentors who come support us. Our little guys truly look up to their high school mentors, and our mentors have been such an amazing example in so many ways. The Henry team has been so supportive — Mrs. Nix, the BSU advisor, and Listy Gillingham have supported us every step of the way. It truly has been a powerful and meaningful partnership, and I want the Henry Staff and students to know how much we appreciate their support!”

— Elizabeth Gillingham is principal of Patrick Henry High School.

By Elizabeth Gillingham

Lions Club Speech Contest

Senior Lisa Nguyen has won the club and zone levels in the Lions Club Speech Contest with her speech addressing this year’s prompt: “Homelessness in California: What is the Solution?”

Lisa has won $250 so far. The contest is currently on hold due to the Covid-19 restrictions, but we hope that, when it resumes, she will win the regional contest (and another $250), which will enable her to compete for a $4,500 scholarship. Good luck Lisa!

Patrick Henry closes due to Coronavirus

In an unprecedented time, with uncertainty for everyone involved, Patrick Henry High School (PHHS) and San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) closed its doors on March 13 with a hope to start back again after spring break on April 6. Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus, the news of the school closure was just the beginning because immediately following that announcement Gov. Newsom closed many businesses, parks, beaches, trails, etc. with a stay-at-home order for everyone in San Diego to follow.

Planning for the future has been difficult for every family involved, especially our seniors. On the positive side, families are becoming active together by walking more and getting outside for a break periodically throughout each neighborhood. Everyone is adopting a “social distance” of six feet or more with the exception of immediate family members.

Education has taken a new look, because starting on April 27, all classes for SDUSD will be online and students will do their work from home. A plan will be developed to ensure all students have access to connect to their teachers with devices and WiFi. Prior to that, the schools will open their distance learning using a “soft opening” where work is optional and students and teachers have an opportunity to develop workable platforms for all. Questions about prom, graduation and other senior activities remain on hold for now. A survey is posted on the PHHS website with information regarding how students can get access to technology during this crisis.

We need the community’s help in keeping our school safe and clean. Community members are entering the closed campus, touching our rails, and spreading possible germs in an area that is closed to everyone. We would appreciate it if no one enters the campus or our fields of play during this time. Mayor Faulconer has closed parks and beaches for the same reason. The campus is officially closed to everyone and your support is appreciated during this unfortunate time.

— Elizabeth Gillingham is principal of Patrick Henry High School.

Thank you Henry administrative professionals

In April, we typically celebrate Administrative Professional Day with gifts and an amazing team lunch where we sing and give out special prizes. Unfortunately, with COVID-19, we were not able to celebrate them. I would like to say thank you to the following leaders at our school for their support and help throughout our school year:

Admin. Asst. John Ortler – Calendar writer, rental organizer, timekeeper, with a work ethic that never quits, who is the quarterback of our Henry team.

Admin. Aide Lorrie Harper – Principal secretary and support, volunteer coordinator, and teacher support.

School Clerk 1 Nancy Passmore – The true mother of PHHS who helps every teacher and visiting teacher, answers phones, work with coaches, and is the most positive employee I know.

School Typist Nita Brown – assisting with library books and attendance.

School Clerk 1 Carlos Luna – Bilingual support to our attendance office, transportation support, and a great voice to talk to when you need help at Henry.

School Clerk 2 Chris Genung – Attendance leader, registration support, always ready with a kind word to help you manage a crazy contract.

Health Tech Aide Vicki Tully – A friendly face in the nurse’s office ready to help especially this year when we had many fevers flying through the office.

Site Tech Angie Figueroa – Keeper of records, master schedule designer, and support to teachers when inputting grades.

Financial Secretary Lucia Pineda – Everyone needs a Lucia in their life because when the auditor comes, we look wonderful, thank to her ability to sell tickets, give refunds, purchase supplies, and help us with our finances.

Library Tech Patricia Saenz – Rookie to our team but mighty in the library, ready to help us transform it back to a place for students to be together when we’re done with this COVID-19 disaster.

Media Tech Jim Spradlin – Responsible for every computer on campus, passwords, the servers, and all the things we truly need to work at Henry right now.

Registrar Vera Li – She is the secret sauce when it comes to getting into college, always ready with a transcript and able to get it where it needs to be in a rush.

School Clerk 2 Sub. Claudia Hernandez – Ready to help us even when we’re not in school to recognize our seniors with an Award’s celebration.

Henry student selected as finalist in DNA essay contest

Patrick Henry High School is pleased to report that Emerson Utgaard’s (Class of 2022) essay was selected as a finalist for the American Society of Human Genetics’ (ASHG) 2020 DNA Day Essay Contest.

Only 2% of submitted essays were selected as finalist. Emerson’s essay was judged among applicants from all over the world and her essay placed her as an Honorable Mention certificate winner.

This contest is open to students in grades 9-12 worldwide and asks students to examine, question, and reflect on important concepts in genetics. Essays are expected to be well-reasoned arguments that indicate a deep understanding of scientific concepts related to the essay question. ASHG members evaluate the essays through three rounds of scoring.

ASHG received essays from about 850 students from 39 U.S. states and 28 non-U.S. countries, who explored ancestry testing and cultural heritage. Nearly 300 ASHG members evaluated the results for accuracy, creativity, and writing. Since 2006, ASHG has led the contest annually and seeks to spark excitement and learning among the next generation of genetics professionals and foster greater genetic literacy among the general public.

This year, students were asked to research types of information they could learn about their genetic ancestry through three types of genetic testing — Y chromosome testing, mitochondrial DNA testing, and autosomal DNA testing. Students were then asked to compare and contrast this genetic ancestry information with their cultural heritage.

“With genealogy websites such as Ancestry.com and 23andMe becoming increasingly popular each year, we were interested in bringing science students’ attention to the promise and some of the potential complexities raised by these tests, including how the information you learn may conflict with the information you know, especially as it relates to your family traditions and culture,” said Joseph Shen, MD, PhD, an associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco–Fresno campus and a member of ASHG’s Public Education and Awareness Committee. “The goal of the question was to get students to understand ancestry tests in a more scientific way, by researching the three types, and in a personal way, by analyzing how the information may impact a consumer.”

National DNA Day, celebrated annually on April 25, commemorates the discovery of DNA’s double helix structure in 1953 and the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003, two key milestones in genetics.

ASHG will award monetary prizes to winning students as well as grants for genetics laboratory equipment to eligible teachers. The first place winner, Anisha Parsan (from Clements High School), received a $1,000 prize.

Honorable mentions were awarded to 11 students, each of whom will receive a $100 monetary prize, and PHHS is proud to have Emerson be eligible for this recognition and award. Her AP Biology teacher, Mr. Andy Mangahis, was very proud of her participation and recognition as well. He stated, “As students learn about genetic testing and DNA sequencing they begin to understand how these concepts may have a direct effect on themselves or a loved one. I’m so excited for Emerson’s current and future accomplishments.”

PHHS takes first in EDCO Recycling Challenge

Congratulations to Patrick Henry High School for beings named the first place winner in the high school category of the 2019-20 EDCO Recycling Challenge. PHHS waste reduction and increased recycling resulted in a 40.86% waste diversion rate, garnering Henry the top District honor and a $1,250 prize award. This is the third year in a row that Henry has placed in first place with the closest high school (UC High School) being at a 30.85% waste diversion rate.

The goal of the Recycling Challenge is to reduce waste and increase recycling in our schools to facilitate compliance with state law requiring school districts to divert 75% of our waste from landfill disposal by 2020. Winners were determined based on overall waste diversion (i.e. waste vs. recycling service), bin fullness and weight surveys, and level of recycling education and outreach programs implemented on campus through March 20, 2020. Results were also based per capita student enrollment.

It’s nice during the month of April to appreciate the work our students and staff have done in terms of recycling each year. Kudos go out to Lara Dickens and the Environmental Club; to our amazing NJROTC team headed up by Mr. Ron Flaherty; and finally to our committed custodial team headed up by Plant Operation Supervisor Cathy Murphy. This team has won first place the last three years in a row and keeps the setting the bar higher and higher for other schools to try to meet!

— Elizabeth Gillingham is principal of Patrick Henry High School.

By Elizabeth Gillingham

Top 10 for the Class of 2020

PHHS typically honors the top 1% of the senior class at Sea World in the District’s Annual Salute to Excellence event. Every high school in the district is represented and students are honored by their principals through a special recognition program. We were unable to do that this year, but I wanted to note the top students of the Class of 2020 so I decided to add five more and present to you the top 2% of the graduating class at PHHS!

Ranked No. 1: Jacob Graven 4.82 going to UCSD computer science

Ranked No. 1: Chloe Morris 4.82 going to UCLA as an International Development Studies or Political Science major

Ranked No. 3: Issac Roberts 4.79 going to UCSD to major in Computer Science

Ranked No. 4: Jade Mitchel 4.77 going to UCLA to major in Art History

Ranked No. 4: Kieran Himer 4.77 going to SDSU majoring in mathematics

Ranked No. 6: Theodore Schenck 4.71 going to Oberlin College in history

Ranked No. 7: Alexander “Ably” Penney 4.68 going to Carnegie-Mellon to study Electrical & Computer Engineering

Ranked No. 8: Sydney Cooper 4.65 going to USC to major in English

Ranked No. 9: Heather Nelson 4.63 going to UC Berkeley and is considering majoring in Environmental Science

Ranked No. 9: Truc Thanh Nguyen 4.63 going to University of Pennsylvania

Henry’s first-ever virtual
Senior Awards Night

Everything about the recent pandemic has challenged PHHS to come up with new ways to honor our students. Our 51st annual Senior Awards Night went on without a hitch using our Broadcast Teacher’s skills (thank you Mr. Mark Abbott) and the assistance of our department chairs at Henry.

On May 13, the departmetn chairs, PHHS administrative team, and PHHS counselors met in PHAME, sitting several rows apart in the 500-seat theater to honor the top seniors from Henry. The event had to be scaled back from previous years, where community members would also be invited to present scholarships earned across the county. We focused the evening event (it was planned to be aired on the evening of May 30, the senior’s prom date) on making it more personal and kept it to only school awards.

Principal Listy Gillingham, began the evening with a welcome and a slideshow was aired throughout the presentation made by Head Counselor Vivian Vaccarino which included pictures of every senior who had won an award. Here is a run-down of our winners:

Department Awards

AVID Award presented by Ms. Monica Nix: Vivian Mendoza

Computer Graphic Design Award presented by Mr. Karl Bolton: Mara Lynn Preciado

Screen Printing Award by Mr. Karl Bolton: Audrey Waters

Drama Award presented by Ms. Chris Carr: Alyssa Lozano

Engineering Design Award presented by Mrs. Adria Van Loan: Timber Carey

Architecture Award presented by Mrs. Adria Van Loan: Trevor Burich

Computer Science Award presented by Mrs. Adria Van Loan : Elise Boyd

English Award presented by Mr. Mark Frerichs: Kathryn Zix

Link Crew Awards presented by Ms. Elise Morgan: Jael Mercado, Fabian Cuevas and Elise Angelina Margaux Boyd

Mathematics Award presented by Mr. Ron Reese: Clare Hermanson

California Mathematics Council Award presented by Mr. Reese: Truc Thanh Nguyen

NJROTC Awards presented by Mr. Ron Flaherty: Tram Bui and Van Mai

PE Award presented by Mr. Sheldon Watkins: Erik Radder

Psychology Awards presented by Ms. Amy Evans: Tyra Luangviseth

Science Awards presented by Mr. Jim Davis: Isaac Roberts and Matthew Thomas

Social Studies Award presented by Ms. Taunya Robinson: Ainsleigh Beard

Student Govt. Awards presented by Ms. Autumn Flores: Samantha Linden and Sergio Rynard

Teaching Academy Award presented by Ms. Haley Culver: Savana Pendergraft

Broadcast Journalism Award presented by Mr. Mark Abbott: Alex Sandoval

Band Award presented by Mr. Matt Kalal: John Carlos Lagunas

Orchestra Award presented by Mr. Matt Kalal: Saghi Ajami

Music/Vocalist Award presented by Mr. Weatherly: John Yokoyama

Art Award presented by Mr. Abe Shklar: Mara Preciado

Photography Award presented by Mr. Thom Hunt: Maxwell Skantz

Ceramics Award presented by Mr. John Weatherly: Emma Abbe

World Language Award presented by Mr. Edward Stanko: Vanessa Zavala

Yearbook Award presented by Ms. Jennifer Pacofsky: Madison Burke

School Awards

Peer Mediation Awards presented by Ms. Amy Evans: Hailey Veeder and Daniel Karimu

Perseverance & Achievement Awards presented by Ms. Brenda Morales: Alberto Castaneda and Robert Moonery

PHHS Foundation Counselor Scholarships: Jayden Brown, Makaila Williams, Jesus Flores Sandoval, Daniel Karimu, Daniela Nowicki

President’s Academic Excellence Awards; these certificates are given to the top 2% of the Class of 2020. The students all receive a certificate of recognition signed by President Donald Trump: Jacob Michael Graven, Chloe Lilienne Morris, Isaac Roberts, Jade Marie Mitchel, Kieran Hilmer, Theodore Merin Schenck, Alexander Blount Penney, Sidney M. Cooper, Heather Anne Nelson, Truc Thanh Nguyen

Patriots of the Year Awards

Patriot of the Year Awards are given to students who have demonstrated a high degree of achievement in several areas during their entire time at PHHS. Students apply and ten are typically honored after a thorough review of their resume and letters of recommendations showing outstanding academics, citizenship, extracurricular organizations memberships, athletics, community service, and outside employment. The following ten students were selected this year: Samantha Elyse Linden, Kellen Shane Foster, Victoria Tolley, Naman Govind Bhai Pandadiya, Jennifer Elizabeth Russell, Ariana Jaleen Bermudez, Adrienne Schneider Hooker, Makaila Elise Williams, Zyah Cephus, Alyssa Rose Lozano

Senior of the Year

The Senior of the Year was selected from the Patriots of the Year. Ariana Bermudez was named PHHS’s Senior of the Year due to her passion to inspire others to succeed.

Ariana stated in her application that being a true Patriot for her is defined around the number three, but not because she has three siblings, was in three clubs, or even had three dogs, but because she expresses the three pillars each and every day at Henry by being welcoming, doing no harm and using choice words with others.

Ariana has 4.11 GPA and she will be receiving a plaque and a check for $500 to help support her continued success in whatever pathway she decides to pursue.

PHHS Scholar Athletes of the Year

Congratulations to our Male and Female Athletes of the Year. Adam Monroe and Daniella Nowicki were selected this year to represent the best and brightest athletes at Henry!

Daniella was selected due to her Cumulative GPA of 4.29 and her work on both our Field Hockey and Lacrosse teams. Danielle was noted for earning the following recognition in both sports:

Served as the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Captains

Won the LAX Corrine Rodney 7 C’s Award (2018)

Won the LAX CIF Sportsmanship Award in 2018 during the CIF Championship game (first in our school’s history)

Earned all-league and SD Union Tribune All-Academic Team honors for both her junior and senior year

Danielle will be going to the American University where she plans to major in International Service.

Adam Monroe was selected due to his Cumulative GPA of 4.24 and his work on both our Men’s Water Polo and Men’s Swim team. Adam was noted for earning other distinctions which included:

Served as a 2-year captain on the Men’s Water Polo team leanding us to the first CIF Championship in the school history in 2019

Earned the CIF Sportsmanship award during the CIF game

Earned all-league and SD Union Tribune All-Academic Team honors for both her junior and senior year

Adam will be going to the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where he will study Civil Engineering and looks forward to continuing his water polo career on the University’s Club Water Polo team.

Maria Theodore Memorial Scholarship

This award is a tradition in its 18th year. It was created in the memory of former PHHS principal, Maria Theodore. This $500 scholarship is given to students who have overcome obstacles in his/her life or school career and who are focused on completing a post-secondary education, which would have made Maria immensely proud.

Ziah Cephus was selected for this award as she can easily be described as a true mover and a shaker and was noted for doing great work at Henry using her incredible gift of kindness. Rachel Samuelsz said it best in her quote by stating, “I have had the privilege of teaching this student for three years and she is the life and spiritT of our choir. This student exudes pure life. She is always ready with an encouraging word for anybody, whether she’s addressing one person or the entire class. She is always ready to lend a helping hand and will do just about anything that is asked of her. In fact, I can’t think of a single thing I’ve asked that she hasn’t done and she’s usually the one to offer. She is beautiful, smart and talented! She has had many solos these past 3 years in concerts and I am always left in awe of the magnitude of her vocal abilities.”

Donald W. Giddings Scholarship

This is also an annual award given to one senior who is chosen for his or her outstanding leadership qualities and dedication to the school and community on behalf of PHHS’s first principal Donald W. Giddings. Naman Pandadiya was selected due to his high academic achievement (4.09 GPA) and his community service both at Henry and in his community. His math teacher, Karen Aguilar stated, “I’ve had the pleasure of being his teacher for two years. He is great about finishing his work and is always a kind and helpful presence to his classmates. Two things stand out about him: He likes to share funny jokes which has been a source of laughter. Also he is an ambassador for his community and culture, going out of his way to share information to include others.”

Salutatorian Award

Isaac Roberts earned a 4.79 GPA and was presented with a plaque and a medallion inscribed with Academic Distinction, which would have been worn during our PHHS graduation ceremony.

Isaac is best described by PE teacher Matt Reese: “I have had Isaac Roberts in strength and conditioning this year (and in 9th as well). Isaac is an outstanding student with a strong work ethic. He is a leader and looked up to by his peers. Isaac is respectful and kind to all, and is a true friend to one of our students with disabilities in class. He has had a real positive impact on our Henry community.”

Valedictorian Awards

Jacob Michael Graven and Chloe Lilienne Morris each have a weighted cumulative GPA of 4.82, which is the highest GPA for the Class of 2020. According to math teacher Bill Hockmuth, “Chloe Morris is an all-around great student. The thing that stands out the most is her ability to ask really thoughtful questions. The types of questions that really promotes deeper understanding of the concepts and ideas.”

While Mr. Hockmuth also reported that “Jake Graven is an outstanding student as well. Very bright, consistently hardworking, and just sets a great example in the classroom. I’ve taught Jake for two different courses and he’s been a pleasure to have in class!”

Both Chloe and Jake were presented with a plaque and a medallion inscribed with Academic Distinction which could have been worn during our PHHS graduation ceremony in recognition of her accomplishments.

Valedictorian Watches

The Weissenberg’s family started a tradition to honor the valedictorian of the first PHHS graduating class by awarding the senior a watch from his local jewelry store. Gary’s grandfather began the tradition and after giving the watch, Donald Giddings, the principal at the time, asked him if he would continue offering the gift to other valedictorians, and the tradition began. Upon the death of Gary’s grandfather and the jewelry store closing, Gary’s grandmother decided to keep the tradition going and continued to give the gift each year.

Now that she has passed, Gary is graciously continuing to honor their legacy by continuing this tradition and supplying a watch to this year’s graduates. It was an honor to have him present two watches this year to Chloe Morris and Jake Graven.

Classified Employee of the Year

Rosa Lee Hernandez was selected last year to join PHHS staff as the Night Crew Leader. Her responsibilities typically begin in the late afternoon, just as all of the after school events start to rev up, which makes her super important to the school.

If it’s a basketball game, she’s there to help with the sound system, if it’s a game played in the stadium, she’s on board to get it lit up and ready to go. Everyone who knows her appreciates her “can do” and her more than willing to help out attitude. It’s no wonder why the staff emphatically selected Rosa Lee as the PHHS Classified Employee of the Year for 2020!

Rosa began her career with the SDUSD after being laid off from Alvarado Hospital in a clerical position that she enjoyed for many years, but due to a budget freeze and cuts in the medical fields, she lost her position.

In 2011, Rosa applied for a substitute custodial position with the SDUSD but was quickly noted for her hard work and was quickly picked up by Morse High School as a permanent custodian. While at Morse, she had the opportunity to cover as an interim Crew Leader and took the supervisor tests for future opportunities.

Last year, we interviewed Rosa and she was clearly the best candidate for the job. Rosa stated in an interview with the principal after learning she won the award from Henry, “I enjoy my job and the people I work with and I love working at Patrick Henry. In my spare time I enjoy time with my family, watching movies, walking, bike riding, and hiking. I consider myself an outdoor person. That’s me in a nutshell.”

— Elizabeth Gillingham is principal of Patrick Henry High School.

Patrick Henry principal retires

On May 8, 2020 Mrs. Elizabeth Gillingham announced her retirement to her staff and in the following week announced it to the school community. She writes her last message below as the principal at Henry High School:

“It is with mixed emotions I share this news, as being a principal in the community my own children grew up in meant a lot to me.

I started at Henry on Nov. 4, 2012 and was thrilled to begin working at the largest high school in the district. Henry was slated for many changes during my tenure, which included a full modernization of all classrooms, a state-of-the-art theater construction project (fondly known as PHAME!), a new two-story building, and a rebuild of the football, baseball, and softball fields. Each phase brought on new challenges as we worked hard on providing the best educational program while working around a construction site in the middle of the school.

I also put energy into building a strong community feeling at Henry. That included adding three pillars — Do No Harm, Use Choice Words, and Be Welcoming — which helped build a warm and caring culture among the students and the staff over time. I could feel the difference standing each year in the front of the school as I greeted students who entered on their way to their morning class. I also could see the difference in terms of the way the students treated the school. Simple things like trash ending up in cans began to take hold and the spirit at each home game became legendary and noticed by other schools when they would compete against us.

It has been a sincere pleasure to work with the community at Henry, too. I was embraced by the Alumni Association by being invited to president Kevin Calrlon’s home for a celebration of their first golf tournament fundraiser and have enjoyed working with them over the years as they eagerly raised close to $750,000 dollars to support Henry High School. I also enjoyed working with the Cowl’s Mountain Foundation headed up by Katherine Nakamura as they worked hard to support the addition of PHAME! through many fundraisers and they helped support the cutting the ribbon ceremony once this special project finally became a reality for our school. I also want to thank the Patrick Henry Foundation, headed up by Donald Thomas, but supported fiercely by former Henry vice principal Mike Derisi and volunteer extraordinaire Mary Treadway. Again, having the community support us on a yearly basis is so important to helping the school with expenses and plans that weren’t easily covered with the day-to-day budgets given to us by the district.

There are so many teachers at Henry who made me feel welcomed to visit their rooms at any time and who encouraged growth in their own instructional program by constantly making changes as new research was shared over the last eight years. We instituted PLCs (Professional Learning Communities), common assessments, structured-talk routines (moving away from lectures all period long), fostered growth mindsets, and built culturally-responsive instructional programs. My vice principals, Mr. Bill Miller and Mrs. Jennifer Pacofsky, are both credited for helping me carry out change with the operations of the school as well and will continue to help the next principal with new Henry goals as we work through this pandemic.

And a special thanks goes out to the office staff, custodians, counselors, nurses, and cafeteria workers who all embraced the Henry family we developed and made sure the experience of every student who walked the halls of our school were receiving an educational program that was something we would all be proud of.

The students will always be my favorite part of Henry. Special thanks to the coaches and athletes who competed with skill and passion to be the best; the amazing musicians, singers, dancers, and actors who entertained me over and over again with their many talents; the cheer team for supporting our athletes, and community service provided by our students through NJROTC, Engineering Academy, ASB, and the countless clubs that have given our students a place to show off their skills and make a difference in our community.

My last day was June 30, so like the class of 2020, I get to slip away in a more sedate and calm way. But I walk out grateful for 38 years in education with the San Diego Unified School District. I have loved my career choice that I shared with my husband Bob Gillingham, who is also retiring as the head of the Lower School at Francis Parker School. And knowing my daughters are both teachers and my son is stepping into his first principal/director job at High Tech Middle Media Arts school, our work will still continue through them. It doesn’t get better than that!

Hopefully, you’ll see me back at Homecoming or some other community event because once a friend at Henry, always part of the family. Thank you for enjoying the articles written by me and other staff members. I have loved sharing our work and I hope this continues with the new principal too!”

Kindness Matters mural

Each year, Henry selects a theme to help build the school culture around their three pillars of Being Welcoming, Do No Harm, and Using Choice Words. This year, our school t-shirts were designed with a “Kindness Matters” theme and our advisory team of teachers (kudos to Chad Miller, Linda Good, Tom Knapik, Elise Morgan, Mike Pinto, Karen Thomas, and Karl Bolton) began their work around building activities to help our students understand the importance of working together.

The year began with a special Wisdom Quest, where students were assigned to meet with three different staff members to learn their wisdom that they elected to share with them. Secretaries, custodians, teachers, counselors, and administrators were included in the activity to help students meet people outside their bubbles and to appreciate the wisdom adults can share with them from all walks of life. Mrs. Passmore, long-time PHHS receptionist, shared her love of reading and created a special bookmark for every student with the top 50 books every adult should read during their lifetime according to the Internet.

Our last advisory class of the year was built around being grateful. Students were each given a Kindness Matters postcard (printed by teacher Karl Bolton) to write a thank you note to someone who was near and dear to them and asked to give them out during lunch time. Watching students share these special postcards at lunch was quite impressive on many levels. Students were also given a skinny slip of paper to write a message of gratefulness to a teacher, friend, or parent that was to be turned in for our school mural.

The mural was created by Mr. Karl Bolton and during the pandemic, he took over 2,500 slips of paper and created a life-size image of a peace sign from the slips of paper students turned it. This mural will go up in the quad, when the students return to Henry as a reminder that what we do as a community does matter and has a ripple effect on others. Special thanks to our team who developed these ideas to show our students and staff that kindness really does matter at Henry!

IScholar named for 2020

IScholar was founded and launched in 2014 by Irina Chukhray, a PhD student in Sociology at Rice University. Chukhray obtained her BA degree in Psychology, followed by her MA degree in Women’s Studies at San Diego State University, and her MA degree in Sociology at Rice University. She aims to obtain her PhD degree in Sociology at Rice University in 2018.

After graduating from Patrick Henry High School (PHHS), Chukhray set her mind to one day give back to the school and especially the teachers who motivated and encouraged her to pursue her academic goals. She decided to help PHHS seniors currently mentored by the same teachers that mentored her (PHHS science teacher, Mr. Andy Mangahis, and PHHS English teacher, Mrs. Erin Mangahis).

Chukhray designed IScholar with the intention of creating a scholarship that would be useful to its applicants. In her own experience of applying for scholarships, she noticed that the required essay component seemed like an extra writing assignment that did not directly relate to the college application process. The application requirements for IScholar, however, mirror current college application requirements, resulting in a practice run (i.e. essay draft and required supplemental material) for college applications. Using that format, she structured her prompt and selected a student.

This year’s 2020 award went to Emily Donahue (class of 2020) as she presented herself as a strong candidate who has persevered to achieve her goals. In her application essay she writes:

“My whole life, I have been fascinated with nature, with animals, with ecosystems and cause and effect. Even as a kid I knew I wanted to have a career that would put me out in the field to study nature’s beautiful creations. Now, to fulfill this dream, I plan to major in environmental engineering and minor in marine science at a four-year university.

With a degree, or two, under my belt, I hope to find a job with a research organization that focuses on marine life. I want to help spread awareness about the impacts of human interactions with nature and find solutions to minimize the negative effects. Specifically, I would love to focus on saving the coral reef ecosystems and the shark populations. My life would consist of field work, data analysis, and the education of others. Ecosystems and the delicate balances that make up natural habitats are like a constantly changing puzzle that I can’t wait to solve.

The next step in achieving my dream is attending a university to earn a degree related to my dream. I believe that I am a strong candidate for college admissions because of my passion, leadership and perseverance. Over the course of my life, these traits have developed and grown with new experiences, and will continue to grow.

I can claim to have an unwavering passion for the environment, and that can be reassuring for a potential college. Other than having loved nature for my whole life, I also have already gotten a taste of my dream. This last summer I traveled with our school’s marine science teacher and a fellow student to the small town of Bayahibe in the Dominican Republic to study the coral reefs. We would snorkel in waters that should’ve been colorful, vibrant, and full of life. Instead they were brown, dead, and with minimal fish. Regardless, the trip was incredible, and I felt so grateful to be able to learn firsthand about parrotfish, how to build coral farms, and specifically how plastic affects the ocean ecosystems. This trip cemented my dream to do this kind of work for the rest of my life.”

Congratulations to Emily Donahue and special thanks to Irina Chukhray for making this scholarship possible for our Henry grads.

Class of 2020 goes out with a parade

With in-person graduations being banned due to COVID 19, Henry High School kicked into gear with a new way to honor their graduates. Thanks to several Zoom meetings with senior ASB representatives and advisor Autumn Flores, a plan was made to honor the graduates in a special, socially-distant way. Stations were placed around the school for students to visit and get gifts along the way while they made one last drive around the campus.

Station 1, started off with a literal blast from Vice Principal Bill Miller, who had a green-smoked filled bomb that he pulled the string on every 15 minutes to welcome the next 20 decorated cars that lined up with seniors wearing their caps and gowns and their families who were all ready for a tribute.

Station 2 had our counselors lined up to cheer the seniors with their cars decorated with large car-size caps and tassels put on their car hoods facing the grads as they entered through a large balloon arch made to welcome the Class of 2020. Special banners lined each station as students drove past the halls of learning they once traveled through.

At Station 3, students were able to drop off thank you cards written to various staff members and in return got a gratitude newsletter written by the Henry staff for the class of 2020. From there, they picked up cookies, diploma covers, programs, popcorn bags, and key chains provided by our ASB.

The Grad Night Parent committee provided two special stops. One was an 8-by-10-inch yearbook photograph of each graduate and the other was a stage for the grads to stop and take a traditional graduation photo while pomp and circumstances was being played in the background. Each grad was greeted by Principal Gillingham (live and a large cutout) so pictures could be taken with them receiving their diplomas as if we were at USD Jenny Craig Pavilion. A red carpet was included which made the event feel festive and special for each of the graduates as they had their moment to celebrate their achievements.

At the end of the day, each senior seemed happy with the tribute given the circumstances and felt as though the school had done the best they could to honor them in a personal and significant way.

Congrats to the Class of 2020! You set the bar high for others to follow you and your legacy of school spirit will be one that other classes will hope to demonstrate in future years.

— Elizabeth Gillingham is the now former principal of Patrick Henry High School.

By MICHELLE IRWIN

Dear Henry Cluster community members,

I am honored and humbled to be appointed the next principal of Patrick Henry High School. Henry High has a well-deserved reputation for its rigorous academics, exceptional visual and performing arts, impressive athletic programs, and positive school culture. I’m looking forward to meeting you!

I have served as an educator for 25 years in the San Diego Unified School District. I began my career as a Spanish and English teacher. My first principalship was 18 years ago at Lewis Middle School. For over the last 11 years, I have served as principal at Thurgood Marshall Middle School in Scripps Ranch. Most recently, I was asked to assist with the opening of the Logan Memorial Educational Complex.

I’m thrilled to be part of the Henry legacy. Together with the dynamic team of Henry educators, we will continue to provide opportunities for our students that emphasize critical thinking, problem solving and advocacy in order to further their understanding of our world. As students develop these skills, they will become thoughtful and productive citizens with a sense of purpose, integrity and a curiosity about the world in which they live.

Educator Sir Ken Robinson has reminded us, “The key to educational transformation is not to standardize education, but to personalize it, to build achievement on discovering the individual talents of each child, to put students in an environment where they want to learn and where they can naturally discover their true passions.”

I will work diligently to earn your trust and support while building a strong relationship with students, staff, families and the community.

A few quick notes about me personally. I have lived in San Diego for the past twenty-five years and I’m married to an amazing and supportive husband, who is the principal at Dana Middle School in Point Loma. I have two furry children named Jack and Diesel. I love gardening, cooking, reading, and traveling. I am looking forward to serving and leading Henry High School in its — and my — next journey.

Fall 2020 beginning with online instruction

While we are all very disappointed in not being able to return to in-person instruction on Aug. 31, we understand that the safety of our students and faculty take precedent.

As we work with all stakeholders to establish guidelines and schedules to move forward, I can assure you that the faculty at PHHS is planning curriculum, learning new skills and preparing for our online return.

As you know, March 13 was quite a drastic change to our learning organization and we learned a lot about how to implement online instruction during those last 14 weeks of school. While we know it was quite frustrating for some by changing instruction, we know that nothing is more important than providing quality education for every student.

As we work with stakeholders, we are establishing clearer expectations which will better support our students and parents. Although we are still finalizing our next steps, please know that we are working diligently to ensure quality instruction for all our students.

As soon as I learn more, I will communicate information to our entire PHHS community so parents and students can learn how we will launch Fall 2020 which will include orientation, textbook and yearbook distribution, and more.

2020 yearbooks ready

Many of our students purchased a yearbook during the 2019-2020 school year. Like many non-essential businesses closed for a duration of time, so did our yearbook company.

We recently received the 2020 yearbooks and distributed them to our graduating seniors. Our seniors had to return their caps/gowns in July and we distributed their diplomas and yearbooks at that time.

We will distribute yearbooks to the rest of our students in August 2020. We will notify all students when they will be able to return to campus to receive their yearbook. We thank you for your understanding and support.

Senior 2021 portraits rescheduled

In mid-July, Lifetouch sent out information regarding senior portraits starting on/after July 14.

However, Governor Newsom’s established safety rollbacks for many non-essential businesses and thus it has temporarily closed its Prestige studios.

Lifetouch will be rescheduling the appointments already made to take place on or after Sept. 1. Appointment requests are not being accepted again until Sept. 1. Lifetouch will notify us when they are ready to accept appointments and PHHS will forward that information to our list of seniors enrolled in PHHS as of that date.

Once the reservation system is re-opened in September, it will generate a confirmation and reminder emails when an account is created and an appointment is requested, so that you will know your request has been received by the re-opened studio.

We apologize for the inconvenience, however Lifetouch took the necessary steps and followed the closure guidelines for the safety of our community.

PHHS Alumni Association scholarships

The Patrick Henry High School Alumni Association, Inc., a 501 c 3 non-profit, raises funds to help support achievement and athletics. Through annual fundraisers, our Alumni Association is able to provide partial scholarships to graduating seniors. This year, our Alumni Association generously granted three $1,500 scholarships to the following very deserving seniors:

• Ariana Bermudez – Ariana will be attending Arizona State University
• Naman Pandadiya – Namana will be attending Cal Poly Pomona
• Makaila Williams – Makaila will be attending UCLA

We wish these seniors a very happy collegiate journey.

Golf Tournament postponed

On behalf of Patrick Henry High School, I would like to thank the PHHS Alumni Association for their continued support of our school throughout the years. Without the Alumni Association, we would not have been able fund the various programs or improvements to our school without their financial support.

Due to the current COVID- 19 situation and in the best interest of all participants, sponsors, and volunteers, the PHHS Alumni Association has decided to postpone the Golf Tournament and Reunion BBQ until April 22, 2021. The tournament will be held at Admiral Baker Club. We hope you will continue to support our Alumni Association.

— Michelle Irwin is principal of Patrick Henry High School.

By MICHELLE IRWIN

On Aug. 31 Patrick Henry High School began the 2020–2021 school year with 2,654 students enrolled in grades 9-12! Our campus was very quiet though on the first day of school since we started this year online. While we all wanted to return to campus and start school like we have always done, we understand that the safety of our students and faculty take priority. So, we did the next best thing – we Zoomed with 2,654 students! The first week of school was considered a “soft-launch” so we could iron out any technology and/or connectivity issues with our staff and students.

Beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 8, our bell schedule will be as follows:

• Period 1: 8:50 a.m.–10:04 a.m.
• Period 2: 10:13 a.m.–11:27 a.m.
• Period 3: 11:36 a.m.–12:50 p.m.
• Lunch: 12:59 p.m.–1:29 p.m.
• Independent Learning Time: 1:38 p.m.–3:29 p.m.

Due to the extraordinary year, we have modified our bell schedule where our students will take three classes first semester and three classes second semester in order to support both synchronous and asynchronous learning. We all hope to return soon to in-person school but until then we will provide rigorous and relevant lessons to our students virtually.

On behalf of the Patrick Henry High School faculty, we want to thank you for being our partner in education so we can ensure all students graduate with integrity, purpose, and options.

Important funding for Henry

At Patrick Henry, we receive over $200,000 of federal funding when parents turn in free or reduced lunch applications. I encourage families to submit your application online whether or not you believe you will qualify. This federal funding supports our library, provides tutoring for all students, mental health counseling and more.

We will lose this funding if not enough people apply and qualify. Please go to this website and apply today at www.sandiegounified.org/food-nutrition-services.

Link Crew

Our Patriot Link Crew — selected students from grades 11 and 12 — are supporting our new freshmen as they get engaged in the high school experience. Our Link Crew will engage with our Freshmen by providing in-depth orientation and academic support. Thank you, Link Crew for your wisdom and support!

Virtual Back to School Night

We will have a virtual Back to School Night on Sept. 16. We will have a welcome video and links to teacher videos. More information to follow. Visit www.patrickhenryhs.net.

Technology support for students and families

If your student is having any difficulties with online learning with connectivity, logging on to various Zoom or Google Meet sessions or any other application, SDUSD is providing live tech support to all students/families. Please visit bit.ly/3551IJw, or call this Tech Hotline number 619-732-1400 for help.

2021 Yearbook is on sale now

Go to the school Yearbook Order Center and order your yearbook today at bit.ly/3jPFZtw.

Follow this link to the eShare (for parents to share photos): bit.ly/3jRi64J.

Congratulations Brad Callahan

Principal Callahan is retiring after serving 13 years at Lewis Middle School. Mr. Callahan has increased in academic growth with our students while providing opportunities such as building one of the first and finest world-class Engineering and Coding Maker Spaces with help from Qualcomm.

Area Superintendent Hazel will conduct community input meetings in order to find a replacement. Thank you, Brad for supporting our community with your dedication and commitment to student learning.

— Michelle Irwin is principal of Patrick Henry High School.