1. Healthcare

FRIENDS OF PLACER
HIGH SCHOOL
A PARENT/
COMMUNITY
ORGANIATION
MEETINGS
FOPHS
Board Meetings:
February 4
Admin Building
Staff Lounge
2nd Floor
@ 6:30 pm
The Hillparent Bulletin
S C H O O L
Y E A R
2 0 1 4 / 2 0 1 5
I S S U E
5
F E B R U A R Y
Message from the Principal
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Principal’s Message 2
Continued
FOPHS President’s 3
Message
Grad Night E
Waste Fundraiser
4/5
Entrance Testing
for 10th Grade
Accelerated Eng
and AP 11th and
12th Grade
6
Counseling News
7/8
SAT/ACT Testing
9
Sports Liason and
Scrip News
10
Athletic Donation
Form
11
Testing Grade 10
12
Testing Grade 11
13
Attendance
14
February Calendar 15
Bell Schedule
16
PHS Annual
Calendar
2014-2015
17
District Yearly
Calendar
2015-2016
18
About FOPHS
19
Greetings Hillmen,
Welcome to the beginning of the Spring Term. I find it hard to believe that we have finished half a year
and are beginning to gear up for the class of 2015 graduation. By now you should have received your
child’s final grade report for the Fall Term. You can also view your child’s transcript on the portal along
with class schedule and attendance. Please note that the end of the first grading period for the Spring
term is Friday, February 6. On Tuesday, February 10, the Placer Union High School District Board meeting will be hosted by Placer High School. The meeting begins at 6 pm in the Placer High library. We are
also planning to conduct community forums similar to the Strategic Forums that were held last year to
serve two purposes: (1) To communicate to our communities how well we are doing in achieving improved outcomes for all students and to continue to gather input on the LCAP (compliance) and (2) To
introduce our Facilities Master Planning efforts and gather input to improve facilities across the district.
The date of the forum at Placer High School is March 25. Please mark the two dates on your calendar.
Winter sports is in full swing as girls and boys basketball and wrestling are deep into league play. Wrestling suffered defeat in two close matches against Foothill and Bear River, with the Foothill match going
into the eighth tiebreaker. Boys and Girls basketball is still looking for a league banner and continue to
excite the crowd with fantastic play. The girls finished a very successful preseason and hold a 3-0 record
in league equaled only by Colfax. The boys continues to excel in league play with a big win over Center
High School, but still has a tough road ahead if a PVL banner is in their sites. The Ski Team is back on
the slopes this year, with new coach John Maddox heading up a small, but dedicated group of students
hoping for more snow this season. The Snowboard team has been performing brilliantly despite the not
so favorable conditions. Pray for rain and snow.
On the academic front, thanks to all who attended Back To School Night on January 13 th. Students and
teachers continue to work hard with the the new Common Core curriculum and with the second year of
Chromebooks to all sophomores. As always, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or
counselor with questions or concerns. Encourage your child to reach out to their teacher as well and become an advocate for themselves. The library is open every day from 7 am to 3:30 pm, and tutoring is
available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm. The tutoring in the library is staffed with a
credentialed teacher in English and two high level math students to help those during that time. There is
also a Spanish speaking instructor available as well. The PASS (Pursuing Academic School Success)
program will begin again for freshmen as we near the end of the first grading period February 6, 2014.
Freshmen students with two or more NC’s (no credits) will be assigned lunch tutoring Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday until the next grading period and grades improve. As many of you know, the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) will be administered to all sophomores March 17 & 18. This test
is a huge indicator for our API score and is a graduation requirement. Please encourage your child to visit
the District website www.puhsd.k12.ca.us and click on the Parents or Students link. From there scroll to
the CAHSEE Prep link to view sample test questions, practice exams, and tutorial videos.
Continued on Page 2
Principal’s Message Continued…..
I would like to extend congratulations to Andre Sacalxot, James Falltrick, Hannah Brown, Erin Gehlbach and
Tani Thomsen. All five students qualified to participate in the 53 rd annual Northern California High School
Honor Band. They were selected from hundreds of Band students throughout Northern California and will participate and perform February 5-7 at Chico State University. They will represent Placer High School well. And
for seniors, as we get near that time of college acceptance letters arriving in mailboxes, please be sure to notify the
counseling office (Lisa Smith) to have your name placed on the Senior Board. This is an accomplishment you are
to be very proud of because of the hard work and dedication you have put forth the last four years. Please allow
us to celebrate with you and submit information regarding your college application and acceptance to Mrs. Smith,
the counseling secretary. Please take a moment to thank your child for a great start to the new term. And after
that, please remind them that if they have a textbook from last term that has not been returned, to kindly see Mrs.
Shirley Hall in the library to return their book.
Lastly, I would like to thank FOPHS and all who attended the Casino night fundraiser back in November 2014.
This year, FOPHS was able to donate $8,000 to Placer High general athletics through their fundraising efforts.
Peter Efstathiu
Placer High Principal
Go Hillmen!
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Message from the FOPHS Board...
Again, we would like to thank all the parents who signed up to be a member this year and gave a
donation. Your membership helps to support the teacher wish lists. With the monies we have
raised so far, we were able to fund the teacher wish list of $3,600 and raise over $8,000 for the
sports program from the Casino Night fundraiser. We continue to raise more funds with our $5
drive launched January to support the remaining wish lists items. If you have not had a chance to
donate, please send your donation into the office to $5 drive c/o FOPHS.
The wish list this year is over $5,000 in requests that supports many classrooms from Science,
Math, English to Mechatronics, Art, Print making and much more. This year, we were able to buy
the following items for the school:
Social Studies
DVD Learning materials classrooms
Science
Crucibles
Music
Speaker System
English
Caesar learning materials
English
Educational Posters for classroom
World Language
French Language Materials
Math
Graphing Calculators
We encourage to get involved it is a great way to stay informed what is going on around the
school. You can come to our next board on February 4 at 6:30pm in the staff lounge to hear what
we have planned along with Mr. E and what is happening within the school and district.
Thank you,
President
Friends of Placer High School
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK
Friends of Placer High School
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Grad Night Alive E-Waste Fundraising
A Grad Night Alive E-Waste Fundraising Event has been scheduled for Saturday, February 28, 2015 from
9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Support our upcoming graduates by saving your electronic waste now. Drop offs will be in
the lower student parking lot. No heavy lifting required; just drive up and we’ll take care of the rest!
Sponsored by CEAR, INC, California Electronic Asset Recovery, and California state approved electronic waste
collector and recycler www.cearinc.com.
We will accept monitors, televisions, desktop and notebook PCs, VCRs, stereo equipment, speakers, keyboards,
mice, PDAs, digital cameras, zip drives, telephones, cell phones, printers, copiers, laser and multi function scanners and fax machines, video game consoles, small household appliances such as toasters, mixers and blenders,
vacuum cleaners with the dust bag removed, etc.
We cannot accept: large household appliances (i.e., refrigerators, washers, dryers, etc.), furniture, hazardous
household waste including batteries, paint, pesticides, used oil, cleaning supplies, fluorescent light bulbs, water
heaters, tires, etc.
For optimal security, CEAR INC. shreds all computer hard drives. The secure facility is monitored 24/7 by surveillance cameras.
If you’d like to volunteer for this fun event or just have a question, please contact Sarah at 530-305-8298 or
[email protected].
See next page for acceptable and non acceptable items.
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List of Acceptable and Non-Acceptable Items for E-Waste Fundraisers
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Testing for AP Classes
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Freshmen Parents:
Does the idea of your student participating in challenging critical
thinking, reading, and writing sound rewarding? Would your student
benefit from being prepared to tackle AP classes as an upperclassman? Sophomore Accelerated English may be the right choice for
your student. Testing to be eligible for Placer’s Sophomore Accelerated English class is on Monday, February 9th at 1:45pm or Thursday,
February 12th at 6:00pm in Room 101. There is no need to preregister. Students must take the placement test to be eligible for the
program. Call Mrs. Haydon at 745-5766 for more details.
Sophomore and Junior Parents:
The English Department is offering testing to enroll in their AP Junior
and Senior English classes. If you are currently not enrolled in an AP
class, but would like to do so, please have your student attend one of
our testing dates this February, either Monday, the 9th at 1:45 pm or
Thursday, the 12th at 6:00 pm. Students must take the test to be eligible for the program, and students need only attend one of these
dates. There is no need to pre-register. Students just need to show
up in Room 101 with a pen, pencil and paper. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Haydon at 745-5766 for
more details.
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Counseling News
During February and March students will go through the process of selecting classes for the 2015-2016
school year.
The timeline is as follows:
February 24
Class meetings for distribution of course selection sheets.
February 27
Elective Course Preview Day
February 28 - March 8
Online student class registration (through the Parent Portal)
March 2
Future Hillmen Night for incoming 8th Graders 6pm in Auditorium
March 9-13
Students meet with counselors one-on-one to verify schedules
March 16
8th Grade course registration in PHS Cafeteria 3:30-5:30
Course Preview Day – Friday, February 27 During Course Preview Day, students will be given the
opportunity to explore four separate elective classes which they may be interested in taking next year.
Elective class teachers will share the course outline, projects required, and teacher expectations. By attending these individual sessions, students are able to make better informed decisions on what classes they
want to take for the next school year. Making good choices is even more important to all students as
classes are full and options for schedule changes are extremely limited. In addition, we no longer make
class schedule changes after the term begins unless there is an error or the student is not qualified for the
class.
Online Class Registration for 2015-2016 Beginning February 28, current 9th-11th graders will be able
to register for their 2015-16 school year classes online through the Parent Portal. All students must be
able to access the Parent Portal in order to select classes. If you have questions about getting on the Parent
Portal call the counseling office. The online registration will be open for 9 days only, February 28, March 8. Online registration instructions and course selection worksheets will be distributed to students
at the February 24th class meetings. Course descriptions can be found on the Placer High website in the
counseling section under Course Catalog (Posted mid-February). Parents and students are encouraged to
visit the Parent Portal home page and click on the Online Registration Tutorial on the right side of the
page. These two tutorials demonstrate 1) how to review your student’s transcript so they know which
classes are still needed for graduation, and 2) how to actually choose specific classes online. Students
will also meet with a counselor one-on-one to review their classes March 9-13.
California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) All public high school students in the state of California must pass the CAHSEE to earn a diploma. All PHS sophomores will take the test for the first time on
March 17th (English-Language Arts) and March 18th (Math). It is very important that all sophomore students are well-rested and prepared to take this very important test. We strive to have all our students pass
the CAHSEE on their first attempt. Those who do not pass will have to wait until their junior year to try
again.
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Counseling News Continued
College Scholarships and Financial Aid The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is the Financial Aid
Form to apply for federal, state and specific college campus-based financial aid. This includes grants (free money), loans
(parent and/or student loans that must be paid back) and work study programs. The form consists primarily of financial
information that must be filled out by parents and students. The application is done online at www.fafsa.ed.gov . Since
funds are limited at many colleges, early submission of the FAFSA can maximize chances of receiving financial aid. The
FAFSA should be completed no later than March 1, but again the earlier the better. The State of California funds the Cal
Grant program which can be used at colleges and universities in the state. By filling out the FAFSA your student will automatically be reviewed for Cal Grant eligibility by the California Student Aid Commission. Other scholarship opportunities
are ongoing and can be found in the Placer High Scholarship Bulletin which is available on the Placer counseling website.
District Scholarship Bulletin is accessible through the Counseling Page at the Placer High website. It lists some national
and many local and even site specific scholarships to help seniors pay for college next year. It is updated daily as new
scholarships get posted. Make a plan to check it weekly for the months of Feb-April as this is the high season for scholarship applications. Contact Mrs. Chamberlin if you have further questions.
Sierra College Seniors who plan on attending Sierra College next fall should be applying at this time. Go to the Placer
High website, select the Counseling page, then select (from the left side margin) “Applying to Sierra College”. This will
take you through the process step-by-step with live links to Sierra College. After you have applied, received your MySierra account and completed online orientation, then you are ready for the assessment process. Take the “Quick Survey” to
help determine which assessments you need. If you are still unsure check with your counselor to see which assessments
you need to take. We will be administering the Sierra College assessment tests in the PHS Library on Monday, March 2 rd.
Students must have already applied to Sierra, have a Sierra ID number and have completed the online orientation to test.
Sign up for testing at Ms. Smith’s desk in the counseling office beginning February 2. The testing will be limited to 25 students. The tests will begin promptly at 1:45 and will last up to two hours depending on the number of tests. If this date is
not suitable, students can make appointments to take tests at the Sierra College Assessment Center. Remember that students must have completed the application process before making an assessment appointment.
College-bound Juniors Students who plan on attending a four-year college upon graduation from Placer High School
should take the SAT or ACT at this time. See the schedules below. There are several testing dates and the tests can be
taken as many times as you want. It is highly recommended that all testing be completed by June and not left for the fall.
Also, the upcoming Spring Break is a great time to visit prospective college campuses. Plan ahead! Application period for
the CSU system begins October 1st and the UC system on November 1st. Subject tests are no longer required for the UC
system. For private and out-of-state colleges, check out their requirements and dates online.
State Seal of Biliteracy Placer Union High School District has approved and adopted the State Seal of Biliteracy for students who have demonstrated mastery in a second language. The State Seal of Biliteracy is an award given by California in
recognition of students who have studied and attained proficiency in English and one or more languages by high school
graduation. California is the first state in the nation to honor high school seniors who demonstrate proficiency in multiple
languages by affixing the State Seal of Biliteracy on their diploma or transcripts. It validates, certifies and encourages students to pursue and attain high level mastery in multiple languages. To view the requirements visit the counseling website
and select Seal of Biliteracy.
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Testing Dates
Spring is the time Juniors should take College Admission Tests. Juniors who plan on attending a
4-year college immediately upon graduation from PHS need to take the SAT and/or the ACT. The
tests can be taken multiple times and colleges will use the best scores for admission. See the schedule below; just go to the websites and register.
SAT Test Dates 2015
Register at: Collegeboard.com
Test Date
Tests Offered
March 14, 2015
SAT only
May 2, 2015
SAT and Subject
Tests
SAT and Subject
Tests
June 6, 2015
Regular Registra- Late Registration
tion Closes
Closes
Feb. 13
March 3
April 6
April 21
May 8
May 27
2015 ACT Test Dates
Register at: ACT.Org
Test Date
Registration
Ends
Late Registration Time
Frame
Feb. 7, 2015
Jan. 9
Jan. 10 - 16
April 18, 2015
March 13
March 14 - 27
June 13, 2015
May 8
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Sports Liaison
Dear PHS Sports Parents and Families,
Boys and Girls basketball, Snowboard/Ski, and Wrestling are in full swing! I hope you and your children are enjoying their winter sports program! It is such a wonderful thing to see the children working and growing together,
learning such valuable lessons as teamwork, dedication, courage, and integrity, not to mention all the fun that comes
with it!
If you have not yet done so, please be sure to pay your student’s participation donation. Remember, your donation
dollars is what keeps these wonderful sports programs alive at PHS! Please donate today by going to the PHS
Website link Placer High School, click on Web store.
Under Departments click on Athletic Donation and find your sport!
OR use the form on the next page, fill out and mail or send in to the school office.
Thank you,
Judy Pruett
Vice President FOPHS
Sports Liaison
Your family donation dollars go towards:
*Equipment for the sport
*Equipment certification/repairs
*Officials – home games
*Transportation
* Entry fees for tournaments
*Stipends for some Asst. Coaches
*Trophy’s, medals, awards
*Banquets
*Rental of fields (i.e., soccer, baseball)
*Overtime custodial use for weekends (non-Booster tournaments)
Script News
Do you shop at TARGET? Do you use a Target debit or credit REDCARD?
Target's TAKE CHARGE OF EDUCATION plan will donate 1% of every purchase you
make on your card to your designated school.
Once you sign up, you start earning money for Placer High School just by using your card. It's that easy
and costs you nothing!
Go to Take Charge of Education. Follow the prompts to find Placer High School.
Enter your name and card number and you're done!
Last school year, Placer High received $1,681.00 from Target and we have $826.00 so far this year!
It's such an easy way to raise much needed funds for our school, so please sign up today!!
Thank you for your support!!
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Annual Student Testing Changes…...Grade 10
December 1, 2014
Dear Parent/Guardian:
Student testing in California is undergoing significant change. At minimum, there is a name change: The
Standardized Testing & Reporting program (STAR) has been replaced by the California Assessment of
Student Performance & Progress (CAASPP). CAASPP will provide information that can be used to
monitor student progress and ensure that all students leave high school ready for college and career. The
most notable change is that your child, come their junior year, will experience newly designed, computer
-adaptive tests. However, this year your child will take a paper and pencil test for life science, as have
10th graders in year’s past.
On September 4, 2013, the State Board of Education adopted the Next Generation Science Standards
(NGSS) for California Public Schools, Kindergarten through Grade Twelve as required by California
Education Code Section 60605.85. The California Department of Education is developing assessments
based on the NGSS, and we fully expect these to be computer-based as those currently designed for English-language arts and mathematics.
During the transition to new science assessments, the 2014–15 CAASPP System encompasses federally
required science assessments in grades 5, 8, and 10 (i.e., California Standards Tests [CSTs], California
Modified Assessment [CMA], and California Alternate Performance Assessment [CAPA]). Information
is provided about the content, types of questions, participation criteria, and other key targeted resources
to assist with understanding the scope and requirements of these science assessments at http://
www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ca/caasppscience.asp.
Grade 10 students will take the Life Science test on Thursday April 9, 2015. Students will test in the
morning from 7:55 a.m. – 9:55 a.m. A special schedule will be run on that day, so they are not missing
any regular class time.
Test results will be sent to your home address after the school district receives the reports. If you have
any questions regarding your child’s participation, please contact Kim Barry at (530) 885-4581 ext.
5714.
Sincerely,
Mr. Peter Efstathiu
Principal
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Annual Student Testing Changes…...Grade 11
December 1, 2014
Dear Parent/Guardian:
Student testing in California is undergoing significant change. At minimum, there is a name change: The Standardized Testing & Reporting program (STAR) has been replaced by the California Assessment of Student Performance & Progress (CAASPP). CAASPP will provide information that can be used to monitor student progress and ensure that all students leave high school ready for college and career. The most notable change is
that your child will experience newly designed, computer-adaptive tests.
Last year, selected schools throughout the country participated in a field test which allowed students to experience testing on a computer as well as how the assessment questions go beyond the former fill-in-thebubble format. In addition, students who participated helped us evaluate how well the district’s technology
systems could meet the demands of computer-based tests. And most importantly, it helped us focus on the
resources teachers and schools would need to better prepare for future assessments. Overall, it was a positive
test-drive of this new means of delivering assessments.
Lessons learned from last year’s field test/practice test will help ensure a successful launch of the CAASPP system this school year. For 2014-15, CAASPP includes computer adaptive tests in English–language arts and
mathematics for grade 11 students. Students will take the test from April 20, 2015 through April 24, 2015. To
learn about the types of questions on the computer-based test, you and your child can view the practice test
online at the California Department of Education (CDE) Smarter Balanced Practice Test Web page at http://
www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/practicetest.asp
Following this spring’s testing, students will receive individual score reports. Student score reports will be sent
home to parents and will include an overall score, a description of the student’s achievement level for English
–language arts and mathematics, as well as other achievement information. It is important to note that these
scores cannot be compared to scores that your child previously received on the STAR Program tests because
this test is based on the new Common Core State Standards, involves different types of test questions, and
will not be reported using the former STAR Program reporting categories.
If you would like more information, please visit the Parent/Student tab on the CDE CAASPP Web page at
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ca/. If you have any questions regarding your child’s participation, please contact Kim Barry at (530) 885-4581 ext. 5714 or Steve Caminiti at (530) 885-4581 ext. 5713.
Sincerely,
Mr. Peter Efstathiu
Principal
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From the Attendance Desk
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Revised: March 13, 2015 is now a minimum day due to LeFebvre Relays.
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Placer Union High School District
Calendar 2015-2016
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Friends of Placer High School is a non profit
organization whose primary objective is to promote
student welfare in the home, school, and community
through the cooperative effort of parents, students,
teachers and members of the community. We do
this by supporting programs that strengthen communication, provide volunteer support, and through
financial assistance that enhances, enriches and supplements district approved activities.
Some of our more significant programs include the
Teacher Wish List, Monthly Newsletter, Grad Night,
Library Volunteers and Staff Appreciation Day. Our
meetings are held the first Wednesday of every
month. Everyone is welcome to attend! Come
see what we are all about and support PHS students
on the first Wednesday of each month
6:30pm. In the Staff Lounge.
Friends of Placer High School
275 Orange St.
Auburn, CA 95603
[email protected]
Hope to see you there!
FOPHS Board
We’re on the Web
Fophs.org
FOPHS 2014/2015 Officers
Name
Position
Kim Lightfoot
President
Judy Pruett
Vice President
Lisa Voss
Secretary
Jennifer Hensler
Treasurer
Chad Bender
Membership
Marianne Ellner
Newsletter/Web Page
Liz Koch
Scrip
Open Position
Grad Night Liaison
Brittany Alonso
Hospitality
Open Position
Library Volunteer Coordinator
Peter Efstathiu
Principal
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