Grizzly Community Update

Bear Facts, our official newsletter, the trusted source for information from school admin, PTSA, boosters, clubs and students. Bear Facts is published and sent to the community every Monday morning.

Sign up to receive Bear Facts!

Hello Grizzlies,

I hope that your Spring Break is off to a great start! I am planning for a restful week, and I hope that you are able to get whatever you need from the time off from school.

Congratulations to our newly elected ASB officers for the 2024-25 school year. Thank you to all that ran and put forth amazing effort during the campaign. Those serving next year are:

ASB President - Rhea Bhandari

ASB Vice President - Chase Weaver

MCs: Presley Tuazon and Emma Perry

Class of 2025 President - Roshini Puliyadi

Class of 2025 Vice President - Tulip Deka

Class of 2025 Treasurer - Anica Senthil

Class of 2025 Secretary - Loni Merrick

Class of 2026 President - Vishesh Verma

Class of 2026 Vice President - Elise Matek

Class of 2026 Treasurer - Kai Licata

Class of 2026 Secretary - Emily Rabuco

Class of 2027 President - Lana Vu

Class of 2027 Vice President - Paria Rafii

Class of 2027 Treasurer - Luke Sims

Class of 2027 Secretary - Malia Batongbacal

There are a lot of important announcements this week, so please take a look, especially the additional celebrations in the "Views from the Den" section.

Have a great week and we will see all students and staff back on campus on Monday, April 8!

Respectfully,

Mr. Ball

*(New) - New information since the last community update

*(Update) - Updated information that was originally in a previous update.

School Library Month - April

San Ramon Valley Unified School District recognizes the month of April as School Library Month. The school library ensures that students and staff are effective users of ideas and information and contributes to the growth and development of all students. Lifelong learning is enhanced and systematically developed through the school library. The librarian’s role is to provide the leadership and expertise necessary to ensure that the school library is an integral part of each school’s instructional program.

National Day of Silence - April 12

San Ramon Valley Unified School District recognizes April 12, 2024 as National Day of Silence. During this student-led national event, some students may choose to take a vow of silence to bring attention to the name calling, bullying and harassment that many LGBTQ+ youth face. SRVUSD promotes respect, tolerance and acceptance on all our campuses and believes that all students and staff have a right to a safe and healthy school environment. National Day of Silence will not alter instruction on April 12, but students may voluntarily participate and teachers may discuss and are asked to be thoughtful and sensitive as they create lesson plans. Teachers will be teaching on this day. The pride flag will fly at the District office and at all District sites.

Public School Volunteer Appreciation Week - April 15-19

San Ramon Valley Unified School District recognizes the week of April 15-19, 2024 as Public School Volunteer Appreciation Week. The many devoted and dedicated volunteers in our community provide essential support to our students through generous donations of time, talent, and resources. Volunteers enrich learning experiences beyond what is often available for students and selflessly serve on our boards and committees.They play a key role as our partners in education and in fostering a sense of community and pride within our schools and district.

Environmental Week - April 21-27

San Ramon Valley Unified School District recognizes the week of April 21-27, 2024 as Environmental Week. Schools have the potential to effect positive, tangible environmental change while preparing students, in their careers and civic life, to be stewards of their communities, the earth, and its resources. We support students in becoming aware of the impact of their actions on themselves, others, the environment, and vulnerable communities around the world. SRVUSD also acknowledges April 21 as John Muir Day and April 22 as Earth Day.

1) Purchasing a yearbook: Please check this list (link here) to see if you have purchased a yearbook (press <ctl><f> to find your name). Ms. Brindley is still selling yearbooks for cash or check only (payable to Cal High Yearbook) dropped off at the black lockbox in the front office (make sure student name and grade is on check / envelope) or in WL-1 until all the ordered yearbooks have been sold. The past two years we have sold out the yearbooks, so please DO NOT WAIT to purchase a yearbook.

2) Deadlines: The yearbook class has completed the yearbook and it is now in the process of being printed and bound. Yearbooks will be shipped to the school at the end of May and distributed to students at school. Please understand that it is too late to make any additions or changes to the yearbook.

California High School Voter Education Weeks happen in the last two weeks of April and September and provide an opportunity for high schools and their students to partner with county elections officials to promote civic education and participation on campus and foster an environment that cultivates lifelong voters and active citizens.

The county voter registration office will have their “pop-up” registration office in the quad at lunch on Tuesday, April 23.

We are excited to invite you to our upcoming ELAC (English Language Advisory Committee) meeting 4-11-24 at 4:00 pm at the Cal High Library. This vital gathering serves as a platform for collaboration and dialogue among parents, educators, and community stakeholders to ensure the success English Learner students.

Join us as we come together to share insights, address challenges, and celebrate the progress of our EL community.

Representatives from the Department of Rehabilitation are coming next Monday (3/25/2024) during student support to share with students about their Vocational Rehabilitation program. DOR assists individuals with disabilities to build viable careers and live independently in their community. All graduating students with documented disabilities are invited to apply to see if they are eligible for their services which can include assistance in paying for post secondary education.

We will be sending passes to all seniors attend, as well as, any other interested students.

There will also be a presentation on May 7, 2024 from 4-5pm that families are welcome to attend to learn more about the Vocational Rehabilitation services. More information to come.

I am passing this information along to the school community as one of our graduates is in need and has reached out.

I'm reaching out on behalf of my childhood friend, and fellow Cal High Alum '07, Zahin Ali. Zahin has been diagnosed with Stage IV liver cancer, and he requires a liver transplant from a living liver donor for his long-term survival. We are urgently seeking a volunteer to donate a section of their liver and help Zahin continue to live a life of impacting others. If you are able to pass this message along to the broader Cal High network, the family would appreciate it immensely. Kindly see below for donor criteria:

Basic Donor Criteria (At Time of Surgery):
· Blood type: A+/O+ /O
· Age: 18 - 60
· BMI less than 32
· No history of major illness such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes

Donation Logistics and Timeline
· Donor must be willing to undergo screening and evaluation (blood tests, chest X-ray, CT scan, EKG, and physical exam) and take 4-6 weeks off to undergo this surgery
· Donor liver expected to grow back to full capacity within 3 months
· Screening would be done first now; evaluation and procedure will take place at NYU’s Langone Transplant Institute) in 8-10 months (Nov/Dec 2024)
· Costs related to evaluation, surgery, hospitalization, or immediate post op care covered by Zahin's health insurance
· Procedure is contingent on Zahin successfully completing other medical treatment first

Contributing Monetary Donations
· For those who are able to contribute financially, kindly see here for a link to Zahin’s GoFundMe
· All funds raised will go directly towards his transplant expenses

You can read a bit more about Zahin and his contributions to Cal High in this article published when he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in his local San Ramon troop. Zahin was an AP student, and was incredibly involved in different clubs/volunteer initiatives. More importantly, he is a thoughtful, generous and empathetic friend. After graduating Cal High, he went to Cal Berkeley, and has had an exciting career since (as evidenced by his impressive LinkedIn!)

We understand that this is a serious commitment and procedure for the donor, and we are tremendously grateful to whoever can save Zahin's life. For anyone who can help, please contact us at the following:

pieceofliver@gmail.com
(925) 216 - 8159

Families interested in hosting an international exchange student for the 2024-25 school year - see this flyer for more information.

Students: Please consider completing this survey. The purpose is to gauge student interest in learning more about city functions and government by doing city internships or shadowing.

Our Learning Labs are an opportunity during our Tutorial period for students to be matched up with a tutor and get support with a specific skill. Students are identified by their teachers for this opportunity. Students can also sign themselves up. Interested students should speak to their teacher about the self-sign-up process.

We currently have Learning Labs in the following areas: Math, Science, World Languages, and a combined English/Social Studies lab. Labs are not subject specific, rather they are a place to host tutors and their assigned students.

Thank you to our Academic Boosters for their support with this wonderful opportunity!

Congratulations to the Mock Trial team for their outstanding performances last weekend at the state finals in Los Angeles. The team went 3-1 and placed 9th out of 32 schools. It's the team's 2nd best finish in school history. The last time we finished in the top 10 was 2011 when the team placed 6th.

Senior Aarav Manjunath also was recognized as one of two outstanding prosecution pretrial attorneys in the entire state. He's a four year member of the program and a team captain.

At this month's Danville San Ramon Rotary Club meeting Cal High and SRVUSD were well represented. Kaylee Rogers was recognized as the CHS Rotary March Student of the Month for her work as a math tutor! We also had members of the Interact Club present to the Rotarians on the project they've completed and are on going. Finally, SRVUSD Trustee Shelley Clark shared the district Strategic Directions and Learner Profile with the club.

As a result of the home bleachers construction access to our varsity softball field has been impacted. Our district facilities team is building an access path which will be complete during the week of Spring break.

Thursday we hosted motivational speaker, Faith Alpher. Faith had an interactive presentation for our students and staff focused on self-esteem, community connection to fight racism on campus, and encouragement to persevere through challenges. Faith's presentation and message were timely as we need motivation through all of life's challenges!

We celebrated Ms. Elaine Esguerra, CHS Child Nutrition Manager, as the SRVUSD Classified Staff Member of the Year for 2024! Elaine and her team do a masterful job of preparing and serving between 700 and 1,000 lunches to students safely every single day in about 15 minutes! We are proud to have a leader like Ms. Esguerra on our campus.

March 29 - April 5: No School - Spring Break

April 8-12: Leadership Elections

Saturday, April 13: Senior Ball, 7-10 pm, Exploratorium

April 24-26: Spring Musical

California High School

Email: dball@srvusd.net
Website: https://chs.srvusd.net
Location: California High School, Broadmoor Drive, San Ramon, CA, USA
Phone: 925-803-3210
Twitter: @Demetrius_Ball