Monsoon News - Bellflower Unified School District

Monsoon NewsThe Monsoon Weather Report March & April 2008April 23, 2008Dear Parent or Guardian,The Bellflower Unified School District is dedicated to providing students witha quality education. Our goal is to ensure that every student and parent have information regardingcontinuing educational options beyond high school. We hope that you take the opportunity to review yourstudent’s curriculum guide and assist them in making appropriate choices that will enable them in meetingtheir goals for their future.In addition to the curriculum guide, this letter contains website information that may be helpful inunderstanding the variety of programs that are listed in the curriculum guide.Four Year College RequirementsUniversity of California and California State University Entrance Requirements:* High School graduation* Grades C or higher are accepted for credit* Complete a minimum of three years of math including Algebra II* Complete a minimum of two years of lab science, including biology, and chemistry* Complete a minimum of two consecutive years of a foreign language* Courses must be approved and listed on the UC/CSU course listhttps://doorways.ucop.edu/listsCareer and Technical Education (CTE)Career and technical education engages all students in a dynamic and seamless learning experience focusedon a particular career and the academic knowledge and skills necessary to become productive within thespecific industry. Programs currently offered include service occupations, industrial technology, homeeconomics, and business. Career technical programs provide a variety of outcomes, including, completecertification, preparation for entry level positions, or community college entrance. For more informationregarding programs at your school, please contact your school counselor.* Mayfair High School students can access Career Cruising:User name Mayfair Password Monsoonshttp://www.careercruising.com* Additional information can be found at: California Department of Education websitehttp://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/ct/* Additional College and Career information:http://www.californiacolleges.edu/Should you need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact the school office.Signed,Mrs. BachmannMrs. Bachmann - Principal

dMayfair Girls Soccer wins a 3 CIF titleand plays in the State Semi-Finals.The girls were coached by head coach Mr. SalMarroquin and asst. Coaches Mrs. AmyBellomo and Mr. Edwardo Nunes.Mr.MarroquinMrs. Bellomo was on the team in 2000 whenstMayfair captured its 1 CIF Victory. Monsoonswere led by four team captains:ArielAcostaBrittaniePerezMrs.BellomoNicoleHubbardSamanthaWallBrittanie, Nicole and Samantha all have soccerscholarships for college.Miss Hubbard also captured the record for the mostgoals scored by a player during their career. Theformer record belonged to Dolores Browning backin 1995. Dolores had a career total of 137 goals.Dolores is a graduateof the class of 1995.She attended the gamewhere Nicole capturedthe record and after thegame, presented thegame ball to Nicolesaying that it was abouttime someone beat herrecord. Nicole finishedthe year with a total of144 goals. Thank you Dolores and congratulationsNicole.Mayfair Open HouseGreetings to all.Here is some information for yourconsiderationregarding Mayfair’s OpenHouse:Open House will be Tuesday, May13th, 2008. Our schedule is asfollows:5:30 pm - 6:30 pm AdvancedPlacement (AP) Parent Mrs. Mc KinleyInformation Meeting - MPB*AP Teachers will talk about their programs,summer assignments, and answer questions5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Food and Entertainment - "Big M"6:45 pm - 8:00 pm Classroom VisitationsPTSA Elections will be held in the librarythroughout the eveningHope you can come and spend the evening with us.Where is the Newsletter?Finding the newsletteris really easy.First go to www.busd.k12.us .Second click on Mayfair Highand Third click on MonsoonMr. PearceNews. Here you can see thecurrent issue as well all the previous editions.**Note: If you do not have access to the internet andwould like a paper copy contact the school by calling925-9981 ext. 3205 and request that a copy be mailed toyou.

Students and Teacher Appeal to the StateMrs. Skipper writes: OnMarch 3, 2008, Iaccompanied twostudents to the California RegionalOccupational Center Programs(CAROCP) Legislative Forum inMrs.SkipperSacramento. CAROCP’s lobbyingagenda included: rejecting the Governor’sdevastating proposed budget cut of 10.89% for ROPprograms and successfully implementing AB2448which would increase the percentage of high schoolstudents served by Career & Technical Education(CTE). We met with advisors from the staff ofSenator Alan Lowenthal and Assembly memberHector De La Torre. Students, Bernadette Sanchez(BHS) and Christian Gastelo (MHS), took fulladvantage of the opportunity to share theirexperiences from their ROP classes. This was agreat opportunity for our students to have theirvoices heard and to experience our state legislaturein action. We also had time to tour the CapitolBuilding. The students visited the Bill Room andbrought back resources to their Governmentteachers. It was a long 13 hour day, but extremelyrewarding for all.Optimist Oratorical Contest Swept byMayfair StudentsCongratulations to the following studentswho participated in the Optimist ClubSpeech Contest on March 19, 2008:For the Girls :The topic the student spoke to was WhyMe? Why Not? Everyone is very proud ofthese six young Monsoons and theircoach Mrs. Smith.Mayfair Applauded for FosteringSuch Fine Thinkers and SuchAccomplished WritersMs. Ellen Swieck writes thatinstructor Mrs. Smith andprincipal Mrs. Bachmannwere guests at a banquetwhere students, participating in an essaycompetition sponsored by the OptimistClub were recognized and honored.Leading the recognition were three Mayfair MiddleSchool students: Louie Kristina Angeles won 1 stplace with her essay titled Today’s Choices ShapendMy Future; Dana Brown who won 2 place withher essay entitled Today’s Choices; and VanessardFrausto took 3 place writing about her choices andher future.Louie KristinaAngelesAll three girls received a medal and a $25.00 giftcertificate to Barnes and Noble.Richard Alarcon AllAmericanDana BrownMr. Pendleton provides asummary of Richard’swrestling statistics:VanessaFraustoMrs. SmithMs. SwieckMr.PendletonAlexandriaArenasst1 PlaceFor the Boys:Mark Rayosst1 PlaceShannonTurnernd2 PlaceJonathanPamintuannd2 PlaceEunice Leerd3 PlaceCharlesGrantrd3 PlaceRichard's high school career record was 167 wins,31 losses, with 73 pins.Three time Suburban League Champion.Four time CIF Finalist.Four time CIF Masters qualifier.Three time CA State Championships qualifier.2008 CIF Masters Finalist.5th place at the 2008 CIF State Championships.8th place at the Senior Nationals in VirginiaBeach, Virginia, which earned him high schoolAll-American status.

His record at Nationals was 4 wins,3 losses. He lost to the 2nd place,4th place, 7th place wrestlers, so his3 losses were to 3 All-Americans.He won 1 of his matches with a 2point reversal with 1 minute left inthe match. In the match that wonRichard Alarcon him All-American status, he waslosing 3-2 at the start of the 3rdperiod. He scored a 2 point reversal and a 2 pointnearfall to win the match 6-5 over a wrestler fromNew York.Additionally, he also won the Reno World'sTournament two weeks after wrestling at the SeniorNationals.Richard is being recruited by the Citadel Collegefrom South Carolina.Congratulation Richard and best wishes for a greatcollege experience.Dear Friends:I want to take a moment to share with you apassion I have; it is a passion fueled by my beliefthat we can create change not only in our lives, butin the lives of others. But I can't do it alone and Ineed your help...together, I hope WE Connect moreworking families to money, opportunity and dreams.Over the past two months, I have traveled across thestate to promote WE Connect, a unique campaigncreated through public and private partnershipsaimed to help California's working families getahead. Our primary goal is to ensure that theseworking families are aware of the financial supportavailable to them, such as the Earned Income TaxCredit (EITC). Last year, over a billion dollars wasleft on the table because almost 600,000 of thoseeligible didn't apply. This money could have helpedthese families pay for school, transportation,childcare and much more.By visiting our website at www.WeConnect.net,clicking on the WEB Connector tool and answeringfew simple questions, Californians can find outwhat resources they are eligible to receive. It's fast,it's simple and it includes:a. The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)b. Child Care Tax Creditc. Golden State Advantage Cardd. Lifeline (low cost phone service)e. CARE (low cost utilities)f. Low Cost Auto InsuranceWe are proud to announce our partnership with LaOpinion through an amazing supplement, filled withdetailed information on all of the programs andresources available along with stories of real peoplewhose lives have been touched by WE Connect andhave changed for the better. To request free copiesand help connect others to their dreams, pleaseemai:l info@weconnect.netEvery Californian has a dream that they want toachieve. WE Connect works to promote theseprograms and services that can help families reach

those dreams. Believe me, I've heard the successstories first hand - parents working multiple jobs,supporting large families, struggling to make it -receiving a few hundred to several thousand dollarsback.Like I said, we need your help in continuing to passalong this important message. I urge you to lookaround your neighborhood, your community, yourjob and think about those who could use your help. Ihope it will inspire you to Become a Connector. Wecan all do our part to connect California's workingfamilies to resources that matter - please join meand many others and Get Connected today!Best,Maria ShriverndMayfair Student Takes 2 In State SpeechContestSenior HeatherChamplin, coached byMrs. Teri Smith,Mayfair English instructor,participated in the Voice ofDemocracy speech contestsponsored by the Veterans ofForeign Wars (VFW). She tooksecond place in the State ofCalifornia for her five minute speech My Role inHonoring Veterans. She centered her talk on herexperiences in Washington D.C.Congratulations Heather.Mayfair Faculty vs the StudentsHeather ChamplinWednesday March 5, 2008, members ofMayfair Faculty took on MayfairFaculty TeamStudents in the first annual Hiram ‘Chick’ PetersonMemorial Basketball Game . Mr. Peterson was anAssistant Principal in the high school office formany years. He became ill and passed away back inSeptember 2002. In honor of his memory ascholarship fund was started and continues today.All the proceeds for the event go to providingscholarships for graduating seniors. The game wasall in fun and those who attended had a great time.In addition to the game, there were refreshmentsand several performances to entertain the audience.We want to thank all who supported this greatevent.Mayfair Band On DemandMayfair’s Band under the direction ofMr. Tom Philips is being shown onLakewood Cable. Sallie Gallagher aproducer for City TV reports that a video segmentof the MonsoonBand iscurrentlycablecasting onCity TV channel31 as part of theprogram“CommunityDigest”.Program timesare 3:30 am/pm, 6:00 am/pm, and 10:00 am/pm.Those who do not live in Lakewood or do not havecable can view the program on the city’s website at;www.lakewoodcity.org/citytvColor Guard Takes Honors at WinterGuard CompetitionThe StudentsMayfair’s Color Guard competed at theWinter Guard Tournament on April 182008. The girls took first place in theirclass and third place over all. Well done ColorGuard.

Dear Middle School Students and Parents:Welcome to the final quarter of the 2007-08 school year! Our hope is that studentshave a productive end of the year and enjoy the special activities planned in theirhonor. We expect all students to maintain their academic focus and participate inyear-end activities.Please read this letter in its entirety as it relates to all upcoming middle schoolactivities. You will learn about important dates, dress code information andparticipation criteria. A calendar of activities is included for your convenience.Please call the middle school office should you have any questions.PRIDE NIGHTOur pride night awards ceremony will be held on Wednesday, June 4th, at the Calvary Baptist Church ofBellflower from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Our awards ceremony is by invitation for both 7th and 8th graders.Awards Ceremony Dress Code:* Students should be dressed appropriately for the event and the school dress code will be in effect.* Boys: Shirt with a collar, tie recommended, jacket optional. Dress slacks or khakis are preferred. Cargopants are discouraged. Tuxedos are not permitted.* Girls: Dress, or skirt with a blouse. No strapless, spaghetti straps, low cut, evening or formal gowns.* Not acceptable: Ragged or torn jeans, short pants or tee shirts. No formal wear for boys or girls.EIGHTH GRADE PROMOTION ACTIVITYOur eighth grade promotion activity will be on Friday June 13th at Knotts Berry Farm from 10:00 am to4:30 pm. Tickets must be purchased at the main office. All school rules and the dress code will be ineffect. Students who demonstrate inappropriate behavior will be sent home immediately.Requirements to attend promotion activityStudents are eligible to participate in activities if they meet the following criteria:* Have less than 10 discipline referrals (teacher suspensions and discipline referrals) for the year* Have no discipline referrals or teacher suspensions between April 30, 2008, and the day of the eighthgrade promotion activity* Have approval from all teachers.* Have a 2.0 or better overall GPAPlease note: Students who do not meet the criteria listed above for activities may participate only in theawards ceremony and promotion ceremony if the criteria for promotion is met (see below).PROMOTION CEREMONYOur promotion ceremony will be held on Wednesday, June 18th, in the Mayfair High School Gymnasium.Seating will begin at 7:30 am. Time of the ceremony is 8:00 a.m. We will not allow anyone to enter andwalk in front of the seated guests once the ceremony has started. Late guests will be allowed to stand in theback.Important Notes:* No balloons or noisemakers are permitted at the ceremony.* There is limited seating so please arrive early.* Parking will be available in the student parking lot.* Parents may check their students out (for the remainder of the day) after the ceremony as they exitthrough the gates to the parking lot.

Promotion Dress Code:* Students should be dressed appropriately for the event and the school dress code will be in effect.* Boys: Shirt with a collar, tie recommended, jacket optional. Dress slacks or khakis are preferred. Cargopants are discouraged. Tuxedos are not permitted.* Girls: Dress, or skirt with a blouse. No strapless, spaghetti straps, low cut, evening or formal gowns.* Not acceptable: Ragged or torn jeans, short pants or tee shirts. No formal wear for boys or girls.* STUDENTS IN VIOLATION OF THE DRESS CODE WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TOPARTICIPATE IN THE PROMOTION CEREMONY.Criteria for Participation in Promotion:* All fees and obligations must be paid (textbooks, library books, lab fees, fundraisers, ID cardreplacement, club projects, etc.).* Students must pass 5 classes with a D or better. Students must pass the core subjects of Math, English,Science and Social Studies. Students must have five acceptable citizenship grades of E, S or N as wellas good attendance and behavior. Academic and citizenship grades will be evaluated up through theweek prior to promotion.* Students that are suspended from school June 16-18 may not participate in the promotion.Parents of students who will not participate in promotion will be notified no later than June 13th, 2008.Students suspended June 16th or 17th will be notified on the date of the suspension.We look forward to a great end to the school year. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to callus.Sincerely,Mark KailiponiAssistant PrincipalIMPORTANT 2008 SPRING DATESDATE ACTIVITIES DETAILSMay 23-26 Memorial Day Holiday Memorial Day Holiday - School ClosedthJune 4June 13June 17June 18ththJune 18Pride NightKnott’s Berry Farm 8th GradePromotion ActivityPromotion RehearsalEighth Grade Promotion CeremonyLast Day of School6:30 pm at the Calvary Baptist Church* Invitations will be sent to participating students’ familiesTimes and fees TBAPeriods 5 & 6* Students must be present to participate in the promotion ceremonyon June 18th.* Independent Study students and students in the Opportunity Classparticipating in promotion must attend the promotion rehearsal.Gymnasium*Students report to school at 7:00 a.m.* Students will sign yearbooks, say goodbye to teachers and classmatesand find out many of their final grades* Dismissal at 12:16 p.m.