pfc newsletterO A K P A R K H I G H S C H O O LNovember 2013 www.oakparkusd.org/ophs

Last month, a group of OPHS teachers,administrators, and counselors, along with a parent andstudent, all sponsored by the PFC, attended aConference put on by the Stanford UniversityGraduate School of Education on the stresses thatstudents face and what high achieving schools andcommunities can do to improve their students’ socialand emotional well-being. Last week at the Kick-offevent for the OPHS Safe School Ambassadors, (onceagain supported by the PFC) students and teachersdiscussed how to improve our school climate and fostera nurturing school environment. Today, over 150Advanced and Beginning Peer Counselors conductedtheir home group meetings and trainings on creating asupportive and positive school culture. Earlier today Iwatched 200 students line up to eat healthy foodprepared by the Four Seasons food truck arranged byour Associated Student Body and the OPUSD Healthand Wellness committee. The 2013 CaliforniaPhysical Fitness Test results were just released and 90%of our ninth graders performed in the Healthy FitnessZone (HFZ) passing 5 of 6 of the tests administered intheir PE classes. So, once again we turn our attention to student

health, and social and emotional well-being. Yetdespite all the programs we have at OPHS, many ofour students are still experiencing stress and anxietytoward school. Many students are over-scheduled asthey attempt to achieve good grades in tough classeswhile playing sports, working jobs, and participating incountless other extra and co-curricular activities in andout of school. We know that many of our teenagers arenot getting enough sleep, and that they spend as manyhours on social media or gaming as they do on theirstudies. We are very concerned about some of thehigh-risk behaviors that we know some of our studentsare engaged in and are acutely aware of the continueddangers of substance abuse among our students. We

The Principal’s Messageknow and recognize that depression among teenagersis still a real and significant condition that we see toomany students struggling with and the impact it has onfamilies and school. We are also working in ourleadership groups and in our departments to tackle theissue of academic integrity as overwhelmed studentsfind ways to cut corners and find themselves facingdisciplinary consequences. In the upcoming weeks we will be giving our

students a survey designed by the teams at Stanford toidentify what else we as a school can and should do tohelp students be successful while maintaining goodphysical, social, and emotional health. And while thereare many things to celebrate as our students, school,and district continue to receive awards and recognitionfor our achievements and successes, we must be evervigilant to the risks our students face as they cope withthe pressures of adolescence and school. I look for yourcontinued support and am confident that as a schooland as a community we will continue to work togetherto build the supports and safety-nets that the studentsneed to achieve success and be healthy.

Inside This Issue

PHonor Roll names list

P Important Yearbook deadlines & dates.

P Common Core, Article #2

P eScrip changes

P Plus, all the regular news, ‘save-the-dates’ & notices to keep you IN THE KNOW!

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Campus Calendar, News & NotesNov. 1 No School - Pupil Free DayNov. 8 PFC General Meeting, 8:30 am, Lib. CRNov. 7 Comedy Sportz, 7:00 pm, Pav.Nov. 11 No School - Vererans DayNov. 12 Naviance Workshop, 7:00 pm, C-6Nov. 12 OPPAA Meeting, 7 pm, Lib. CRNov. 15 Freshman “Show-Off” Night, 7 pm, Pav.Nov. 16-17 SAT Bootcamp, 8 am, G-9Nov. 18-22 ASB Canned Food DriveNov. 18 Winter Sports Final Clearance, 2:30pm,

Student StoreNov. 18 Winter Sports Parent Meeing, 7pm, Gym Nov. 23-24 ACT Bootcamp, 8 am, G-9Nov. 23 Girls Lacrosse Carwash, 9 am, Pkg lotNov. 28-29 No School - Thanksgiving Holiday

Pav. = Pavilion

Lib. CR = Library Conference Room

See complete event listings andmore on the

OPHS Master Calendar!

It’s easy as 1-2-3!1. Click here or go to…www.oakparkusd.org/ophs.

2. Hover your mouse on “Calendars” in the yellowmenu bar and select Master Calendar from thedrop down menu.

3. If you selected Master Calendar, click on any event listed for more information!

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PFC Update

President’s MessageDear Parents and Friends of OPHS,

The leaves on some of our trees are beginning to changecolors, and fires are beginning to burn in our fireplaces. Ihope all of you are enjoying the many benefits of living inSouthern California during this time of year. I do not knowhow things go in your house, but in mine, conversationshave turned to Thanksgiving and the holidays. These past two months have been very busy for our VP

of Programs, Julie Ahdoot. She has done a fabulous job inorganizing the Mock SAT & ACT, College KnowledgeNight, and the College Writing Seminar. Thank you to Juliefor all your hard work and to the families that participated.Have you checked the OPHS PFC online directory?

Thank you Leslie Medina and Debbie Bulko for getting thedirectory up and running so quickly. I know this wasn’t easy! Recently I have heard from several parents why they do

not wish to join the PFC. Cited below are just a few of thereasons why joining the PFC is a benefit to you and yourstudent: 1) “I will have to go to the meetings.”No. However, if you do, you will learn what is going on at OPHS. We do not take attendance.

2) “I’ll have to volunteer.” No. You only volunteer if you WANT to.

3) “They’ll bug me for money.”No. We have only one fundraiser per year, and it is our No Frills Campaign.

Just as our kids put a tremendous amount of effort intotheir studies and extracurricular activities, your PFC isputting in the effort to save our planet. Being green does notjust have a positive impact on the planet, it also teaches kidsthat we care about the planet they are growing up in. YourPFC has embraced the recycling program offered by thePlanet Green, Company. We will be collecting the followingitems throughout the school year: inkjet toner cartridges,cell phones, eBook readers, digital cameras, Ipads/tablets,iPods/MP3 players and video games. If you have any ofthese items to recycle, please drop them in the office duringschool hours. Thank you in advance for participating inOPHS PFC’s efforts to make this planet better for our kids.To all the OPHS families, I wish you all a wonderful

and safe Thanksgiving. — Best wishes,

Shelly Resnick, PFC President

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eScrip News!Please make sure that your VONS card isregistered with eScrip. We generateabout $1000/month with this fund raiserso it is well worth it. If you submittedyour info at registration you have alreadybeen renewed.

Please note an important change to theprogram starting November 1, 2013:

1. In order to qualify for earningsyou will need to pay for groceries withone of the following payment types:Debit Card * Check * Cash * Smartcheck *

VONS gift card * WIC * Calfresh

2. Credit card payments will notgenerate contributions. If you still wish touse your credit card please considerpurchasing a VONS gift card and using itto pay for your purchases.

Thank you for your continued support ofour eScrip program

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OPHS THANKS

Tom Bregman – RealtorBroker / Owner Bregman Properties

Tom Bregman -Broker/Owner

Direct: 818.915.3360www.BregmanProperties.com

®

Bregman Properties is pleased to sponsorOak Park High School’s “All Call” system.

The computerized phone system is avital link to our OPHS families!

Serving Oak Park and the Surrounding Communities

www.MoveToOakPark.com

www.ConejoValleyHouseValue.com

DRE#01852520

Oak Park High School PFC Newsletter published monthly September - June

by the OPHS Parent Faculty Club (PFC)for families of

Oak Park High School students.

Oak Park High School • Oak Park Unified School District

Principal: Kevin Buchanan899 N. Kanan Road, Oak Park, CA 91377

OPHS Main Line: 735-3300 Attendance/Temp. Off Campus Pass Line: 735-3311

(please call before 9 a.m.)

PFC President: Shelly Resnick ophspfc@gmail.com

Newsletter Editor: Suzie Bock bockgraphx@sbcglobal.net 818-970-5251

eNews Editor: Uma Narayanan umasaa@yahoo.com 818-707-3124

www.oakparkusd.org/ophs • www.oakparkusd.org

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Hello everyone, all of us here in Advanced PeerCounseling hope that your transitions to the newschool year have gone smoothly. As the first quarter ofthis school year comes to a close and the holidaysapproach, let us take time to reflect on this year overall,and think about everything that we are thankful for,from academics to personal life. One thing I, (Cameron), am grateful for is having

such a close knit group of friends. It is crucial that inorder to have a truly excellent high school career, onemust have a good support circle. That is the beauty ofOak Park, because there are many programs includingPeer Counseling that provide that quintessentialsupport group. Having that sense of security,companionship, and trust make for a very enjoyableschool year, and will create friendships that will standthe test of time. I, (Kyra), am very excited as college becomes a

more lucid picture in my life, I find myself becomingincreasingly more appreciative of the preparation Oak park gave me not only academically, but mentally andsocially. I'm excited to take the ideas of peer counselingto whichever university I commit to in the spring. As the holidays approach, take a few minutes to

think back on everything that you are thankful for, andembrace each other, as the smallest gesture of kindnesscan make the world of difference for anyone. If thingsare tough during this time of year, remember that we asPeer Counselors are here. You can fill out a requestform which is available in the counseling office or onthe website) and we will meet as soon as possible.

— Sincerely,Cameron S. O'Brien and Kyra Stevens

Advanced Peer Counseling Liaisons

Adv. Peer Counseling NewsOak Park High School Honor Roll Reinstated

Beginning with the second semester of 2012-13OPHS is reinstating the Principal’s Honor Rollrecognition program based upon a student’ssemester GPA. Students with outstandingscholastic achievement in a single semester arerecognized by having their names placed on anHonor Roll List, which is posted on thenoticeboard outside the College and CareerCenter and in the PFC Newsletter. This honorrecognizes students in two categories: Principal’sEagle Honor Roll and Principal’s Gold Honor

The Principal’s Eagle Honor Roll recognizesstudents who achieve a term grade pointaverage (GPA) of 3.50 to 3.74.

The Principal’s Gold Honor Roll recognizesstudents who achieve a term grade pointaverage (GPA) of 3.75 to 4.00.

All classes taken at OPHS during a semester willcount toward the TERM GPA for Honor Roll(A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0). Students whoachived honor roll for the second semester of2012-13 are listed on the next three pages.

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Principal’s Gold Honor Roll RecipientsAggarwal, Shruti NareshAhmadi, Tina RoyaAiken, Abriannah ElizabethAlchanati, Camden GrayAlschuler, Schuyler WilliamAnderson, Kyle DavidAngha, HaylaApar, Lily SarahAppelrouth, AlexanderArdi, Ryan DeanArenson, Brooke TaylorAustin, Andrew WesleyAynlender, Daniel GordonBalter, Alexis ArielBanton, Carly RoseBarylak, Martin PBay, Lauren TaylorBear, Zachary EliasBender, Kristen MarieBenson, Grady IrvinBerman, Julia B.Bernstein, Lauren TaylorBhatia, RonakBhutada, Abhishek SBillig, Bradley EdwardBlackwell, BrittanyBlock, Libby EstherBochan, Sarah MarieBoganim, EdanBornstein, Michael RyanBradbury, Jordyn AlexaBranigan, Nicholas KristofBregman, Liora DanielleBregman, SarahBronstein, Leah MirelleBudhiraja, NamanBurger, Alex CameronBurke, Dylan SpencerByer, Brandon PhillipByer, Matthew LeonardByrne, Katherine AnneCalce, Joseph AnthonyChandra, RoopaChandramohan, DevikaChang, Vincent Jong KaeChavez, Sydnie SofiaChekuri, ShreejaChen, Matthew ACheney, Alexis E

Goldberg, Sarah AliyahGoodman, Lauren ElyseGoodnough, Ryan HunterGoodson, Christina MarieGorenstein, Kayla SheaGortner, Davis WillisGowri, AneeshGreenbaum, AmandaGreenberg, Abigail PeytonGreer, Anastasia MarieGrinstein, Noah EliezerGrunberg, Michelle EttyGunn, Sam RossHa, Kevin VanHadari, OfirHaikin, Ziv CutlerHale, Savannah RaeHall, Trenton ScottHarris, Ryan KennethHasserjian, Cole SpauldingHeeney, Sarah ElizabethHerbert, Lindsey RachelHerbert, Megan BryceHerbert, Riley TannerHinds, Hannah MarieHolmes, George RobertHolmes, Rachel AnnHsiong, Lucas WilliamHsu, DavidJamison, Trevor GordonJan, Alyssa MackenzieJan, Katherine ElizabethJatavallabhula, KavyaJi, Jessica JanieJiang, Everett AustinJois, Tushar MJones, Brittany ElizabethJones, Julia GretaJulius, Rachel HannahKarthikeyan, RohitKatz, AdellaKatz, Joshua KennethKaufman, Brooke EllyseKazemi, ArianaKealer, Jenna AnnKealer, Joshua MatthewKedar, Liat RivaKellenberger, Eric LoganKerr, Alexandra Michelle

Cheney, Christopher RobertCheng, TimChesson, Jacob TaylorChiu, DennisChock-Wong, Taylor JeanCibrian, Cristina DianeCohen, Cameron IanCohen, Madeline AnneColao, Roman FrancisConant, Justin TylerConvey, Rachel BrookeCooper, Lauren AlyseCruz Albrecht, Carlo AdrianCruz Albrecht, LauraCruz, Ashley NicoleDavarpanah, Neda MinaDave, PriyankaDavis, Jake LazarDavis, Max NoahdeCaussin, Audrey AnnaDion, Collin JasonDiPaolo, Alexa GiannaDods, Matthew NicholasDolabson, Erin LynDriggs, Nathaniel TaylorDuerfeldt, Lauren RoseDugar, RoshniEgan, Brendan RichardEllsworth, Gracie JaeEphrem, Belen SabrinaEpstein, Jordan SamuelFam, Miriam NagiFarboody, Sabrina ReneeFarzaneh, Kayla NicoleFeng, Andrew Yong CienFields, DaniellaFinn, Noah FrancisFong, Dorinda MFord, Tyler MartinFriedman, Gabrielle BrookeFriedman, Ilana PeriFurgala, Juliana MarieGeske, Monica AnneGhaffari, Emilie SarahGigliotti, Sophia KathrynGilliam, Julia PaigeGladstone, MatthewAaronGlenn, Karly MarieGodsick, Samantha Lee

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Khalilzadeh, AshkaanKhamidova, MalikaKhoury, Sean ChristopherKinder, Wesley W.Konda, Sevitha ReddyKristensen, Tyler JacobKubena, Rebecca MarieKubik, Spencer MartinKwon, MinLaba, Samantha IlyseLaifman, Eric PaulLam, Brianna DanaeLam, Jake ByronLamb, Craig MichaelLan, Connie ChiaYunLangley, Giselle HopeLederman, Hannah AshleyLee, ChristopherLee, Keun HeeLee, Sun HeeLegaspi, Sharmaine Levy, Lorenzo RoccoLewis, Hillary LynnLin, Emily MLonngren, Rebecca JLu, Kevin YanMach, Rachel SarahMacMahan, Justin BruceMarkarian, EmilyMarkarian, NicholasMarkowicz, Sarah AlyssaMatsumoto, Clara KaoriMatsuoka, Alex TakashiMei, Tingjun Joshua""Mertzel, Amanda RuthMeyer, Benjamin ThomasMigliore, Rachel LeighMiller, Brooklyn PaigeMoiz, HuzefaMorrow, Miles BennettMyden, Brandon TylerMyers, Madison GraceNalamlieng, Jayda GinaNaranjo, Gerryl May JugoO'Brien, Emma RoseOjalvo, Gabriela SophiaOng, Lillian Yi AngOstrove, Amanda Sarah

Paden, Maris VirginiaPai, Alex Yo TanPark, Kenneth SParks, Brendan ClayPathak, Harini VibhavPearson, Charles EdwardPerlmutter, LaurenPestano, Brooke AlexaPeters, Charlotte AnnPeters, Joseph RoyPham, Audrey Thuy MiPham, Rachel Thuy-NhiPhillips, Jacob VitawskiPhillips, Madison ClairePiurkowsky, Stephen EliasPorat, Benjamin JordanPowers, Emily CaitlinQin, Thomas ZhaoRabizadeh, Crystal HannaRamirez, Nicolas KenjiRashba, Gabriel BenRatusnik, TalyaReifman, Matthew RyanReilly, Amanda JustineRochon, Brady NicoleRoded, Tal GilRomanova, NicoleRosen, Jake EdwardRudnick, Lily GabrielleSaifi, Nabeel FaizSalinger, Jamie LynnSarveshwar, Varsha MetaSchneider, Keith MitchellSchulner, Eliana DavidaSchwartz, Nicole AngelaSexton, Sarah DelaneyShapiro, Joshua MatthewShapiro, Nolan TylerShattuck, Sarah ChloeSheinkman, Virginia PearlShikha, ShivaniShires, Marshall OssiShires, Zane MichaelSklar, Sam BrennanSmith, Caroline TylerSnader, Brooke SophiaSpeert, Jakob EdgarSpence, Samara Stuart

Srinivas, AshwaryaSrinivas, ChandanaStahlhuth, Andrew PaulStanton, Lindsay DanielleStermer, Sophia ArianaStocking, Chase LeeStrauch, Elizabeth AnnStutz, Samantha HelenSugar, Emma LeighSun, CathySutarwala, TahaTagawa, RussellTakeda, Caitlin EmiTaneman, Summer AriTaylor, Matthew RTelep, Nektary Tobias, David JosephTownsend, Jessica EllenTran, Tyler KienTran, Vincent HTrompetto, Brittany AnneTsai, AsumiTsai, Sunny Hsin TzuUmann, Cassidy MicheleVertullo, Brandon JamesVolk, Isaiah KarlanWaksman, ItamarWaldron, Jane ElizabethWall, Jessica LorranWang, LynnWarmbrand, Noah DanielWeisberg, Jacob LawrenceWeissman, Harly PaigeWelin, Lauren RauchWhealen, Jake ThomasWhiteley, Jack ThomasWhiteley, James DavidWigul, Chloe MayaWing, Courtney LeonaWood, Lauryn CassidayWulf, Luke WilliamXiao, Wendy QiuyuYang, IrenaYe, Grace SijieZhao, Amanda ShengtingZhao, OliviaZheng, AngelaZilberman, Paul Joshua

Principal’s Gold Honor Roll Recipients (continued)

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Adamski, Marissa ReneAgapiou, Molley ElizabethAleagha, TaraAoki, Kyle CabralArulmani, Priya AisvaryaAudras, Joseph AndrewBalke, HannahRoseBaraghimian, Benjamin L.Barrow, Emma MarieBartolomea, Hannah ElyseBazargan, SahmBeatty, Brett TaylorBerns, Emma RachelBerns, Sarah GabrielleBloss, Madison ElizabethBowman, Hannah JoBracken, Emma AnneGeldin, Michelle RoseGifford, Blake EdwardCamorlinga, LaurenChristineCampbell, Alexandra RoseChane, Emily GailChuba, Hallie ElizabethChung, VincentCohen, Lauren AnnCohen, Rachel BryanneCook, William WoodsCoppel, Brandon MarkCwik, Kendall NicoleDadon, Coraal MimiDavies, Sebastian MDeGrinis, Ava LorraineDelin, Hillary MichelleDesai, Sweta HemantDunlay, Kristen IreneExler, Hannah RebeccaFatemi, Cameron FaridFinn, Zachary DanielFitzgerald, Lindsay TheresaFrey, Adam JosephFriedman, Aaron ThomasFrisch, Alexa LillianGarfinkel, Jake AddisonGari, Jason ChristianKinberg, Aaron LouisKnauer, Michael AlexanderGigliotti, Dante JamesGoulak, David AlexanderGreenwald, Jordan

Greer, Tatiana NicoleGupta, Neepun NirajGutterman, Melissa ErinHa, Victoria AlexisHasserjian, LaurenSpauldingHedlund, Mitchell EricHelou, Jessica DawnHennessy, Monica BreannHenry, Elijah PatrickHirsch, Madelyn PaigeHughes, Madison MarlinHush, Matthew JasonHwang, Yoochan MichaelIvaturi, RajuJamison, Hunter DarrenJasso, Brendon ConnorJiang, AliceKalmanovich, NimrodKaplan, SamanthaKatz, Gregory NathanKatz, Leah MarieKawamoto, Kyle RichardKelly, Sarah EKerns, David EdwardKhaw, Johnny RyanNguyen, Dai Scott QuangNguyen, KoreyKotik, David PeterLabrecque, Melanie EliseLapides, Megan RuthLee, Trent NicholasLevine, Dylan HunterLewis, Kelli AnnLi, Albert ErboLin, RyanLiu, Amanda YingyingLouie, Alexander GilbertMahoney, Marissa NicoleRice, Sarah RoseRifkind, Jonathan NoahRinkov, Samuel BennetRivera, StephanieRosen, Zachary BarnetRowland, Natasha ShabaziRubenstein, Lili ArinSalim, Emily LaurenSalim, Jenna AshleySalinger, Audrey LeeSanders, Rachel H.

Santiago, Matthew JamesSauer, Ashley RoseSchlatter, Julia MarieSchmidt, Brandon AnthonySchnurr, Aurora BrynnSchwartz, Brian KyleVetti, Robert PaulSeigel, KailaSelby, Parker HarrisonShaham, JonathanBenjaminSharon, ArielSharon, NeevShattuck, Joshua CameronShemtov, Lauren AshleyShenavai, Delyla HopeShi, CatherineSigel, Sophie RuthSimons, Raizi FeinbergSingley, Nicholas WeldonSmailes, Brooke AkimiSnyder, Casey LynnSolny, Jordyn StephanieStraughan, Samuel RSullivan, Peyton ElizabethSunshine, Arielle YonahTallman, Sally RoseTaylor, Jake WayneToo, Benjamin Jun WeiTorigian, Christina MarieTorres, Victoria EsperanzaTrnavsky, Alana MarieTrompetto, Ashley TaylorTucker, Brandon NUcker, Brandon RileyVarney, Natalie RoseVelasquez, Michelle SarahWada, TheodoreToranosukeWall, Michaela TerryWashington, Leia JillianWeber, Jordan VonWeitzman, Bryan NormanWheatley, Leah BarbaraWinck, Ben AndrewWyner, Logan HarrisonXie, David TongYoung, Frank MatthewZelico, Gabriel JosephZhang, Jerry

Principal’s Eagle Honor Roll Recipients

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All of our fall teams are working hard to find a spot in the CIF play-offs and competing for TVL championships.Here are the team records as of now:

Varsity JV FroshLeague Overall League Overall League Overall

Football 2-0 7-1 2-0 5-3 1-5Girls Tennis 1-4 7-6 Girls VB 6-4 9-13 3-7 4-17 4-6 5-13B XCountry 1st 1stG XCountry 1st 1st

Best of luck to all our teams as they continue their seasons. Please come out and support them. All schedules anddirections to away contests are located on the OPHS website under athletics. Play-off information will be on thewebsite when we have that available.

WINTER SPORTS

Important dates for upcoming winter sports – boys and girls basketball and soccer are as follows:

Nov. 18 Parent meeting (for all those on a roster) 7:00 pmLocation will be determined and coach will let you know.

Nov. 18 Final Clearance – all information and needed paperwork regarding this is on the OPHS website under Athletics.Times to be determined by sport and coaches will let athletes know their specific time. Location will be the student store.

Any questions, feel free to contact us at apettit@oakparkusd.org or by phone at 818-735-3303.

- Ann Pettit and Rob Hall, Co-Athletic Directors

Eagle Athletics Update

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Common Core State Standards Initiative An Overview

The English Language Arts and Literacy portionof the Common Core Standards is a culmination ofan extensive effort to create the next generation of K-12 standards, thereby ensuring that all students arecollege and career ready by the end of high school.The standards offer an integrated model of literacywith key features including reading, writing, speakingand listening, and language. They are research andevidence based, aligned with college and workexpectations, both rigorous and internationallybenchmarked. These standards create a vision of whatit is to be a literate person in the twenty-first century.The standards address requirements not only for

English Language Arts but also for literacy in history,social studies, science, and technical subjects. Theyaddress literacy in a variety of content areas. Theliteracy standards for grades 6-12 help students meetthe challenges of reading, writing, speaking, andlistening in multiple disciplines. It is important tonote that the 6–12 literacy standards in history/socialstudies, science, and technical subjects are not meantto replace content standards in those areas but ratherto supplement them. This structure recognizes thatwhile English Language Arts teachers are responsiblefor developing literacy skills, teachers in other contentareas have a role to play, as well. As most of therequired reading in college and the workforce isinformational and challenging, this interdisciplinaryapproach ensures that students are proficient inreading complex informational text and writing in avariety of content areas. In kindergarten through grade 8, the English

Language Arts and Literacy Standards are gradespecific. They balance the reading of literature withthe reading of informational text including history

and social studies, science and technical subjects.The standards for grades 9-12 use two-year bands toallow maximum flexibility in designing high schoolcourse work. The standards require an emphasis onliterature and literary nonfiction, as well as readinginformational texts across the content areas.

The student who masters the ELA Common Corestandards:• demonstrates independence• builds strong content knowledge• responds to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose and discipline

• comprehends as well as critiques• values evidence• uses technology and digital media strategicallyand capably

• comes to understand other perspectives and cultures

I will be presenting an overview of the CommonCore at the following sites:

Brookside - October 25thMedea Creek - November 7thRed Oak - November 14th

Please feel free to attend any of these meetings - Ilook forward to addressing your questions andconcerns!

— Yours,Leslie Heilbron, Ed.D

Assistant Superintendent, HumanResources/Curriculum and Instruction

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Yearbook News & NotesYearbook News & Notes

Senior Personal Ads - from family to studentBe a part of the OPHS Yearbook Tradition

Your opportunity to purchase a Senior Personal Ad with a special, personalized message from you to your

graduating senior is NOW!Personal Ad PricingPersonal Ad Form

NextNext Senior Personal Ad deadline is Tuesday, December 10th

LastLast Senior Personal Ad deadline is Friday, January 10th

Yearbook is now accepting Now & Then photos from Seniors.Photos need to include at least two seniors in the shot.

Photo needs to be from childhood, with the ‘now’ photo posed the same way.

Please submit photos to Ms. Rohlfs at krohlfs@oakparkusd.org for consideration.

Seniors will only be in the photos once, so please consider whenpicking which photo to use.

(Example: if Suzie appears in a photo with Judy and a differentphoto with Jamie, only one will be chosen by the class).

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College NewsImportant Dates & Deadlines for Seniors

Early Action/Early Decision: application deadlines vary from as early as October 15th toas late as Feb. 1 for some Colleges. Most "Regular Admission" deadlines are set fromNov. 30 to Jan. 15 (although some colleges have even later deadlines). For moredetails go to: http://www.oakparkusd.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=1102

Oct. 1 - Nov. 30, 2013: This is the window for students to submit their online application toall UC's & CSU's. For more information go to the UC Application web page at:

http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/apply-online/index.html.And, the CSU Application web page at: https://secure.csumentor.edu/AdmissionApp/

Nov. 22, 2013: This is the deadline for students to request a letter of recommendation forany application with a deadline prior to January 15th. Counselors and Teachers musthave a minimum of 3 weeks lead time for all recommendations! The Counselor'sChecklist must be completed in order to request a recommendation from any teacheror counselor.

Jan. 1, 2014: Federal Financial Aid applications (FAFSA’s) may only be submitted after thisdate. Paper forms are available in the Counseling Office now. However, the preferredmethod for submission is via internet through their website at: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

Jan. 7, 2014 (6:30-8pm): in G-9: Financial Aid Workshop

ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT SUBMISSION & COLLEGE APPLICATIONS

One of the most significant developments in the college application process over the lastdecade has been how colleges now prefer to receive applications, transcripts, and let-ters of recommendation electronically.

At Oak Park High School we strive to be on the cutting edge in supporting our studentswith their applications. To that end, we have been using the NAVIANCE program since2009 to not only assist parents and students with college research, but also to submit doc-uments electronically (i.e. transcripts, letters of recommendation, etc...). NAVIANCE givesus the ability to transmit documents to the 488 colleges who use the CommonApplication, and an additional 1,828 colleges through Docufide Parchment Services. The good news is that electronic document submission (via NAVIANCE the Common App& Docufide), has dramatically reduced the amount of paper that students and theschool have to prepare and mail. It has also provided an added level of securitybecause each of these services have tools that verify document submission.

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In NAVIANCE, once a student loads a school into the "colleges I'm apply to" page underthe "colleges" tab, they will be able to determine which schools accept electronicdocument submissions (of transcripts, and letters of recommendation) by viewing thefollowing icons:

This is a Common Application school. All transcripts and letters of recommendation,and other supporting documents will be transmitted electronically to these schools viathe Common App.

This is also an electronic school. If they require a transcript or any other supportingdocumentation these too can be transmitted electronically via Docufide ParchmentServices.

This is not an electronic school. They require transcripts and supportingdocumentation to be mailed via USPS. For this kind of school you must either provide astamped pre-addressed envelope to the OPHS Registrar, or we can put the transcriptand/or letter of recommendation in a sealed envelope for you to pickup and mailyourself.

To view the list of destinations that accept electronic transmission of documentsthrough Docufide:http://www.docufide.com/hp2/general/edocs_destinations.jspsIf your school/destination is on this list make sure you have added it to your list of“colleges I'm applying to” in the “colleges” section of Naviance.

So, if everything is electronic - why do we still get notices that documents have notbeen received?It is very frustrating for students, parents and OPHS faculty to receive this kind ofcommunication from colleges when we know that the documents were prepared, paidfor, and submitted on a timely basis. As previously referenced, more than 1,000 non-Common App schools accept electronic documents from Docufide ParchmentServices. Both the Common App and Docufide provide document verification reports toNAVIANCE.

Parents and students can confirm in NAVIANCE that their documents were submitted inthe "colleges I'm applying to" page. If OPHS has submitted your documents you will see"initial materials submitted" next to the school in the "Office Status" column. If the OfficeStatus still shows "Pending," you should contact your OPHS Counselor. You can alsocheck to see if your Teacher Recommendations are "completed" as well!

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Click here for a tutorial on Managing your Common Application

Click here for a tutorial on Submitting your Common Application

When an student creates an account in the Common App Online, the student must firstidentify Oak Park High School (CEEB code 050006), as their "Current or most recent sec-ondary school attended." Once they do this, students will receive a prompt explainingthat all of their school forms will be completed through NAVIANCE. He or she will thenidentify one counselor and one or more teachers. After a teacher or counselor is addedto a student's list of school officials. Applicants are then able to monitor when individualteachers and counselors have submitted their various forms in the "AssignRecommenders" section.

The "School Report" in the Common Application includes the following 4 documents inone packet transmission:

1. The Common App's Secondary School Report evaluation form completed by your OPHSCounselor2. An OPHS School Profile3. Counselor's Letter of Recommendation4. The Student's Initial Transcript

Continued on next page

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Here is a sample of how this section will look in the Common Application Dashboard:

You can track Counselor School Reports, and Teacher Evaluations in the "AssignRecommenders" section:

Continued on next page

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How do Common Application Colleges receive School Forms that were submittedonline?Common Application members log in to a secure Website where forms submitted online –via either the Common App Online system or NAVIANCE – can be downloaded. This is thesame Website where members have downloaded the applications and supplements sub-mitted by students for the past decade. The institution receives the online portion of yourapplication once you electronically sign the application and click the "Submit" button.Your application is then instantly made available to the institution, but it may take severaldays or more until the institution actually views your application. The institution will not seeor know the specifics of your online application until you complete the steps involved inthe submission process, which typically includes the payment of an application fee, sub-mission of any required supplements, and acknowledgement of the accuracy of yourapplication by use of the electronic signature.

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I created alternate "versions" of my Common Application for a few schools, and someof them have not received my School Forms - why is this?The Common Application allows students to create as many as 10 separate "versions" oftheir Common Application.The Common App does not allow us to submit documents elec-tronically to alternate versions - only to the first version. If you did create alternate versions,you must provide hard copies of the School Report and Teacher Evaluation forms to yourteachers & counselor, along with stamped, pre-addressed envelopes so we mail the forms(and your transcript).Note: A high percentage of Common Application schools already have supplements aspart of their application so they have provided a way for students to personalize their appli-cations. Creating different 'versions" of their Common Application is one of the most com-mon reasons that School Forms aren't able to be matched to the student's application.

I've submitted my Common Application to multiple institution, but some of them saythey haven't received it yet!Once your application has been submitted, it is the college's responsibility to downloadyour application, and School Forms from the Common App. If you are concerned that anadmissions office hasn't received your application, ensure that your application showsgreen and complete on the My Colleges page (check out the status legend), then contactthe school directly. Please provide them with your Common App ID so they can search foryour record appropriately. Once a school has downloaded your application from theCommon Application & School Forms it will look like this:

For more questions about the Common Application go to:https://appsupport.commonapp.org/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=33013

What if my college is a non-Common App school, but NAVIANCE says it acceptsElectronic Submissions - how can I verify that my documents were sent?"

As previously referenced, more than 1,000 non-Common App schools do accept electronicdocuments from Docufide Parchment Services. In addition to the “initial materials submit-ted" notification on your "colleges I'm applying to" page in NAVIANCE, this service alsoprovides an internal “Submission Status" report with more details. Your OPHS Counselor canprovide you with a copy of your "Submission Status" report that verifies your documentswere submitted by OPHS, and whether they have been downloaded by the college. Thisreport also contains a unique "Docufide ID" confirmation number for each document. Asample report will look like this:

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Some Feedback From Colleges:

Depending on the time of year it can take colleges 4-6 weeks to process your documentsand acknowledge receipt to you directly. If you feel it's necessary to contact the school,make sure to ask how long it takes them to process document so you can make sure thatamount of time has passed since you received their last confirmation. To help parents & stu-dents better understand this process we have some feedback from 3 popular schools -Indiana, Arizona, and Texas about the time it can take to process a student's application:

INDIANA UNIVERSITY, BLOOMINGTON

• We’re glad that so many students want to come to IU, but processing all of theapplications we receive takes time. Once your application is complete, youshould receive information about your decision in four to eight weeks.

• We do indeed accept forms such as transcripts and recommendations electronicallyvia Docufide! • Please note that it may take up to two weeks from the time that your applicationmaterials are received in the Office of Admissions before your status is updated online andyou can see that the materials have been received. • Thanks for your patience. You can check your status by logging in to OneStart if youhave already set up your IU computer account.

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

We do accept transcripts via the Docufide service. However, the processing timefor submitted documents can be 4 to 6 weeks and, as such, students may

receive correspondence from our office during that time indicating non-receipt. The tran-scripts do not need to be sent again. If you still have concerns, please feel free to contactour Admissions hotline.

At the University of Texas in the best of circumstances, it can take two or threedays for items you submit online to appear in your MyStatus page. Items yousubmit in paper form (by mail, for example), may take two or three workweeks to show up, especially near the deadline. And as the deadlineapproaches, the Office of Admissions can receive thousands of documentsby mail each week.Document uploads: Electronically formatted documents are uploaded to

our computer system and matched with individual application files. At this point theyappear in MyStatus.If you submit several items in one envelope or package, they may notall be processed at the same time. Different areas of the office process different kinds ofdocuments, and what needs to happen and how much time it takes to complete eachprocess varies. So one or more of your items may show up on your MyStatus page a cou-ple of days before another.

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So, what should parents & students do when a college tells you they havenot received documents that NAVIANCE says have been sent?

• Even in this electronic era it is important to understand that there is still a"human" element to the college application process in College Admissionoffices. They are overwhelmed with documents (both paper and electronic),and it simply takes time for them to work through them all. • Contrary to what most of us imagine, electronically submitted documentare not automatically matched to a student's application. A human being

must download the document, match it to the student's application, file it, and then log it inthe student's applications status portal.• Re-sending documents in the middle of the application crush does absolutely noth-ing to help the process. Even though it might make us feel better, it only adds another itemthat has to be logged in and reviewed. These "re-sent" documents ultimately add no newinformation, and actually end up delaying the review of a student's application. • Bombarding them with phone calls and emails also takes away precious humanresources from the application review process.

If you absolutely feel it is necessary to contact a school about missing documents,make sure you have done your homework first! Preparing to contact a school shouldinclude the following:

1.) If it is a Common App school: make sure you have confirmed the "submitted" and/or"downloaded by college" dates of the documents from your Common Application. Makesure you have these dates, along with you Common App ID when you contact the school.Also, make sure you to check whether created any alternate "versions" of your CommonApplication for one or more of your schools.

2.) If it is a non-Common App school: make sure you have confirmed in Naviance that "ini-tial materials submitted," is posted. If Naviance does show that your documents were sub-mitted, you can contact your OPHS Counselor for a "Submission Status" printout. When youspeak to the Admission office you should quote the "Docufide ID" number to them to helpthem locate the missing document(s).

3.) Students should always be part of any communication with a college! Whenever aparent contacts a school by themselves, the college representatives begin to wonder justhow independent and ready the student really is for college.