Thor's Report

Monday, December 9th

Winter Guard Tryouts 4:00PM

Boys Soccer vs Otay Ranch

Girls Soccer @ Foothills Christian

Boys Basketball @ West Hills

Tuesday, December 10th

*ASB Winter Formal Ticket Flash Sale*

Financial Aid Night

Girls Basketball @ Otay Ranch

Girls Water Polo @ Grossmont

Boys Basketball vs Grossmont

Boys Soccer vs Olympian

Wednesday, December 11th

Academic League vs Grossmont Middle College

Wrestling vs Rancho Bernardo

Girls Soccer vs Chula Vista Charter

Thursday, December 12th

UC COSMOS speaker: Lunch Rm 511

Girls Basketball vs Hilltop

Friday, December 13th

ASB Volleyball Tournament @ Lunch on the East Lawn

Girls Soccer vs Montgomery

Boys Basketball vs Mount Miguel

Representatives for UC's Summer Internship Program COSMOS will be on campus this Thursday, December 12th to share information about the program and application requirements. The session will take place during lunch in Santiago's room, Room 511. Please encourage your student interested in a STEM career to attend.

UC COSMOS

COSMOS is an intensive four-week, July 7 - August 2, summer residential Pre-College Program for high school students who have demonstrated an aptitude for academic and professional careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. Students have the opportunity to work with renowned faculty, researchers, and scientists in state-of-the-art facilities while exploring advanced STEM topics while living on a UC campus.

Students apply to ONE of the Five University of California’s COSMOS campuses:

- UC Davis: Quantum Mechanics, Engineering, Mathematical Modeling, The Internet of Things

- UC Irvine: Biomedical Data Science, Tumor Biology, Aviation, Genes/Genomes, The Universe

- UC Los Angeles: Artificial Neural Networks, Ecosystem Responses, Animal Form Evolution, Aerospace Engineering, AI for Speech and Imagery, Hydrogen as a Fuel

- UC San Diego: Computers, Climate Change, Renewable Fuels, Tissue Engineering, Music & Tech

- UC Santa Cruz: Number Theory, Biodiversity of Bugs, Video Game Design, Photonics Revolution, Molecular Biology

Each campus can only accommodate about 160-200 participants. The selection is competitive. A typical COSMOS student has a GPA of 3.5 or above. In addition, students must have achieved academic excellence. Online Applications open January 8th; the deadline to apply is February 7, 2025.

The last day of school for students this semester is Thursday, December 19th. Finals will be held Tuesday, December 17 through Thursday, December 19th on a modified block schedule. Second semester starts on Monday, January 6th; we will be on a collaboration bell schedule.

In order to minimize class disruptions during finals, we will not be delivering passes to classes/students. In the event that your student needs to be released from school early, please have them bring their excuse note to the attendance office prior to the start of class.

• The attendance office has been moved from the 2nd floor of the building to the 3rd floor, next to the Front Desk. Please use the ramp to enter the Main Office at Valhalla for all of your needs; meetings, counseling, attendance, etc.
• An attendance email has been created to help process excused absences; you can email vhs-attendance@guhsd.net or continue to leave a message at 619-593-5333. Please include your student's name, ID number, date of absence and reason for absence. Absences must be cleared within 72 hours or students will be marked truant.
• If your student needs to be released early from school, you can email vhs-attendance@guhsd.net in advance, send a note to school with your student or call 619-593-5331 at least 2 hours before your student needs to leave. PLEASE NOTE: Your student may not leave campus prior to being checked out through attendance. Once your student leaves campus, they are considered truant. Calling after your student leaves campus will not excuse them.

Teacher Whitney Russell received this week’s Valhalla Worthy Award. Ms Russell was recognized for consistently creating opportunities for students to explore their aptitudes and abilities through AVID and photography. Thank you for consistently exemplifying our values of excellence and valor.

While everyone knows studying is important, the environment that you create for studying can have a massive impact on your results:

• Make a study space: Find a quiet, peaceful place to study, but try studying in different rooms to improve learning.
• Create a study schedule: Spread out your studying over time so you can take breaks and avoid feeling overwhelmed.
• Get rid of distractions: Cells phones and TVs should be out of site and out of mind to help you focus.
• Take breaks: Study in short periods of time, like 30 minutes, and then take a break.
• Reward yourself: Rewards can motivate you to study, and can include snacks, walks, or your favorite TV show.

The FAFSA and CADAA financial aid applications are officially open! Counselors will be visiting seniors in their Government/Economics classes this week and next to help them get started. If students are US citizens or permanent residents, they should be filling out the FAFSA. If not, they should fill out the CADAA. Students filling out the FAFSA will need their Social Security Number to create an FSA ID and start the application process, so please have it ready when we come into classes.