summer newsletter #5

Summer 2012, Volume XXIV, Issue No 5 Peterson Middle School Newsletter Page | 1

Principal’s Corner – Mrs. Susan E. Harris

Dear Families and Friends of Peterson Middle School,

This 2011-2012 school year has been full of activity ~ as I look back…we survived with

a new Vice Principal, Ms. Topliff, a new superintendent, Dr. Bobbie Plough, the state

attorney general Kamala Harris’ visit on Digital Citizenship, a CODE BLUE LOCKDOWN, construction in 3 classroom wings, the FHA Regional Competition, 4

basketball championships, the parcel tax, Teen Read Week, a beautiful student-painted

mural, and 5 furlough days. And each year seems to go by faster than the last!!! No

matter how much is happening around campus, at this time of year I am always so

grateful to be working with the quality members of our staff, the mature students that I hate to “let go

of” now that we have grown together over the course of the school year, and the support of our families.

This is the time of year when we all come out and celebrate our successes, reflect on our growth, and

start planning for the future. I’ve always believed…Where there is growth, there is innovation. I look

forward to seeing you before the year is over, or the next time our paths cross – for those 8th grade

families moving on to high school ~ Good Luck!! There are lots of end-of-the-year highlights in this final

edition of the PTSA Newsletter ~ I hope you all have a great summer – rest and rejuvenate – and we will

see you in August!

Yours truly,

~ Mrs. Harris

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL IS MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 2012

INFORMATION ABOUT REGISTRATION DATES WILL ARRIVE IN JULY

MEASURE A PASSED! Thanks to the support of Peterson’s PTSA and members of our school community, the results

of Measure A (parcel tax) showed a 72.9% approval, thereby passing and ensuring a better

fiscal situation for Santa Clara Unified School District for the next 5 years. As a direct

impact to Peterson, Measure A is saving our school librarian, one of our counselors, Middle

School Sports (volleyball, basketball, soccer, track and field,tennis), support for technology, and

Summer 2012 Volume XXIV, No. 5

Published by Peterson Middle School PTSA Santa Clara Unified Council Sixth District California PTA

Susan E. Harris, Principal Ruchita Shah, PTSA President Stacy Marshall, Editor http://pms-scusd-ca.schoolloop.com/

everychild.onevoice.


qualified staff. Pink slips for many SCUSD teachers were recently

rescinded, and everyone is taking a deep breath of relief! We are

still, however, assessing our budget situation for next year and are

closely watching how Governor Jerry Brown proposes support for our

public schools. A lot of decisions take place over the summer when

the state budget is passed in July.

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE – We are so excited to open up the new

E-Wing! This last wing of classrooms is absolutely beautiful…and each

room is unique to any other classroom on campus! Phase IV of

construction begins this summer – with seismic upgrades being done

to the Gym facilities, modernization of the entire Multi-Purpose

building (Staff Lounge,

Cafeteria, Stage Area, Music

Room). In addition, our campus

will begin Measure C upgrades

to our campus, which includes

the installation of many

surveillance cameras and solar energy panels! Soon, our staff parking lot

in the front will consist of the new Cafeteria Portables (double portable)

to open in August for students.

MOVING? Not Returning Next Year? If you are the parent/guardian of a current 6th or

7th grader and know that you will not be attending

Peterson next year, please give our registrar,

Mrs. Yoshida, a phone call at 408-423-2806 and let her know. This will

assist in figuring out student placements, student files, etc., for next

year.

Goodbye to Special Peterson Staff! We wish you the best of LUCK! Mrs. Ghilarducci: Congratulations to Mrs. Ghilarducci who retired after working as a

paraeducator for SCUSD for 18 years! We wish you the best! In her place, working with

6th grade students will be Ms. Erica Toy! Mr. Lemos: Our Lead Night Custodian, is retiring after 24 years of service! The Peterson staff will miss

his help around campus, and we wish him the best of luck!

Mrs. Lucia: Congratulations to Mrs. Lucia, who recently accepted a position at Sutter Elementary School,

teaching kindergarten next year! Those 5-year olds are lucky to have such a caring teacher! In her place

will be Mrs. Ash, who is currently teaching 6th grade at Peterson! Mr. Stowers: Congratulations to Mr. Stowers, who recently accepted a position at Wilcox High School,

working in the Mild-to-Moderate Resource Program next year! We will miss your guitar playing and

soothing music! In his place will be Mrs. Arcinas, the current RSP Teacher for 7th grade!

Mrs. Tripousis: Congratulations to Mrs. Tripousis, who recently accepted a position at the County Office

of Education, supporting the Student Services Department ! We will miss your smile and helpful

assistance in our school office!

Ms. Villarreal: Congratulations to “Ms. V” who is retiring this year, after 18 years of service in SCUSD!

Ms. V is planning to move with her family and see where her journey takes her. The Culinary Arts program

is such a great success because of you! In her place, we will be hiring a new Culinary Arts teacher over

the summer!


No Saving Seats @ Promotion Ceremony For 8th grade families only, please make every effort to enter the gymnasium together as a

whole party, for those of you who are bringing extended family to the Promotion Ceremony.

Parents will not be allowed to save seats for additional family members. Extra tickets for

family members can be requested – please call Mrs. Morales at 408-423-2810 and your name

will be added to our “extra ticket” list.

SSC Survey Results – Available @ https://pms-scusd-ca.schoolloop.com/ Thank you to all of you who participated in this year’s SSC Parent Survey or SSC Student Survey! For the

questions that were answered, we have compiled the data and are looking at the results for “direction” and

school improvement ideas. Thank You…Thank You… Thank You! Below is a small portion of what we “gleaned”

from the parent survey data and requests/suggestions for next year:

Parent Education - Should include fostering motivation to achieve.

Communication is getting better, but there is room for improvement. Newsletters are packed, but too

infrequent. Copies should be available in the office. Update school website more often. Pinnacle

must be updated more often to reflect current work.

Homework – Some are reporting too much, so students are not able to sustain extracurricular

activities. Others report their students are not assigned enough. (same comment as last year!)

Student Environment – Parents drive dangerously in the parking lot and in front of school during drop

off and pick up. They do not often follow rules. PE facilities and classrooms are improved, yet the

fields need repair.

Best about Peterson – Parents enjoy diversity of cultures, extracurricular offerings, phone blasts,

library support, foreign language classes, visual art program, and other electives, positive and

caring staff, Nature Center, opportunities for leadership, pool. Parents feel welcome on campus.

Lockdown handled efficiently.

Suggested changes – 7th grade workload and hands-on approach should be more similar to 6th grade.

Lessen tolerance for disruptive behavior and foul language. Students should be able to take more

than one elective. Post online more information about homework and assignments. Improve

communication of criteria used to assign electives, honors classes.

PARENT EDUCATION REQUESTS:

https://pms-scusd-ca.schoolloop.com/


STUDENT ENVIRONMENT:

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Student data will be reviewed by our staff, to reflect on our instructional practices, extracurricular

programs, student safety and climate around campus!

Letter from SCUSD Superintendent – Bobbie Plough Dear Parents,

On behalf of the Yes on Measure A Committee – Thank you to all the volunteers, donors, and supportive voters

who helped pass Measure A! Your overwhelming support means buses will keep rolling, school libraries will stay


open, counseling offices will be full of counselors helping students plan for the future, the school day will not be decreased, and class sizes will not grow. Thank you for protecting the education of your students, thereby maintaining our property values, helping to keep our neighborhoods safe, and supporting the future leaders of our economy.

I am proud to lead a school district so supported by the community and to live where a quality public education is valued. When we stand together as teachers, classified staff, students, parents, donors, business owners, administrators, and community leaders, we can accomplish anything!

With sincere gratitude, Bobbie Plough Ed. D. SCUSD Superintendent and Volunteer for Measure A

Message from Ms. Topliff, Vice Principal I wanted to take a moment to thank all of the Peterson students, families and staff for helping me to

adapt to Middle School Life. It has been a busy and exciting year. As you read in Mrs. Harris’ article,

we have really been on our toes all year long. I have enjoyed getting to know students, parents and staff throughout the

year. The Peterson Community has been very welcoming and I am proud to be a member of this Community.

Next year we will be working with the Traffic Safe Communities Network (TSCN) to evaluate, plan and implement a

traffic safety plan for Peterson Middle School. We will be calling on some parent volunteers to help with the assessment

and development of the plan. More information will be provided in August.

We will again tackle the Social Media craze, and continue to educate students and families on the do’s and don’ts of Social

Media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Muzy, etc.), Cyberbullying and our Antibullying Campaign.

Counseling Corner – Honors Class Update and Math Placement

Math placement testing has been completed in your students’ math classes. Notifications will be sent in late May specifying what math class students will be placed in for the 2012-2013 school year. English and Science Honors letters will be mailed out in late May notifying students if they were placed in Honors or not for the following year.

8th GRADE PARENTS: FOUR YEAR PLANNING/CAREER EXPLORATION: UPDATE Parent Support + Career Exploration + Four Year High School Plan = SUCCESS

In the previous newsletter, we mentioned 4 Year Planning at Peterson. Currently, 8th graders have taken interest and skill assessments on Kuder Navigator, an online system that measures students’ interests and skills. Counselor Vivian Tavernakis has met with students to begin to explore the results. A student’s Navigator results are linked to good career matches in specific occupations and suggest classes a student needs in high school to enable their career pathway. In addition to career information on education needed, tasks and conditions of a career, employment outlook and potential salary, Navigator also offers a wealth of information on postsecondary educational options: vocational training, community college, four year college, and the military. Students can eventually search for scholarships, learn job search processes, make a resume and more. The best news: students have lifetime access to their Kuder Navigator account and parents can register for an account to see student results. Student assessment results can be accessed with a parent/student user name and password from any computer.

We encourage you to go online, register for a parent account and take a look at your student’s results. Parents are the number one influence in student choices for education and careers, so your involvement is important. For parent account registration directions go to http://www.santaclarausd.org/index.cfm. Click on “Four Year Planning” on the left hand side of the SCUSD home page. Go to the “related files” near the bottom of the page. For an overview of the 4 year planning process view the “Career and College Readiness Parent Presentation” file featured at the four year planning evening event held at Peterson February 2nd. Click on the related file “How to Sign Up” and you can view detailed instructions on creating a Navigator parent account that will link to your student’s assessment results. Note: Parents will need to know their student’s Navigator user name. If they can’t remember it, there are instructions on the sign up page on how it can be emailed to them, or contact Ms. Tavernakis ([email protected]) for user names.

Education studies show that the sooner a student has a career direction, the more successful they will be in high school. Your student’s high school counselor will use their Navigator results to continue the career/education conversation throughout high school. Santa Clara Unified supports success for all students in an ever changing employment world. We are proud of our efforts at Peterson to initiate career exploration that will help them succeed in high school and beyond.

http://www.santaclarausd.org/index.cfm


ASB/Leadership – Can You Believe 2012-2013 is OVER!

The school year is finally coming to an end. Although we only have a few weeks to go, Leadership

and ASB are still busy finishing up our school projects. Recently leadership participated in

improving our test scores for Peterson. To help improve scores, leadership ran a History Review Night to help eighth graders review three years of social studies content. Additionally, we went to

each class to give study tips for students. Our school dance on April 27th was a huge success. Thank

you to all the students and parents who attended. On May 8th, Leadership once again visited the

Belmont Senior Center. This was a great way for Peterson students to interact with our community.

Leadership would also like to thank all the Pennies for Patients donors who helped us raise a grand

total of $5,160! Your donations were appreciated by victims of leukemia and lymphoma blood

cancers. Our class also sponsored the Hope Clothing Drive. This was a drive that donated clothes

to an organization that helps people with developmental disabilities find jobs and occupations to live a successful life. A

few upcoming events include:

Variety Show - May 17th (evening show for community, parents, and students) May 18th (day show for students).

6th

/7th Grade ASB Elections May 25

th

Spirit Week May 22 - May 25 (May 21 is a Furlough Day)

8th Grade Saratoga Springs Activity May 25th

8th Grade Promotion June 1st.

Please make sure to come and check out Peterson's Variety Show. Everyone is invited on May 17th from 6:30 to 8:45.

Thank your parents and students for all your support this year.

~ Happy Summer! ~ Written by Ajaipal Chahal, ASB President

8th Grade Promotion Dance!

The promotion dance will be held on Thursday, May 31, from 6pm – 9pm. Students will receive invitations to attend the promotion dance (during the last week of school). Parents are working hard in order to make this a very special event for our 8th Graders. If you would like to volunteer, or, if you are a parent of a 6th or 7th grader and would like to chaperone on the night of the dance, please contact Vivian Tavernakis at 408-423-2803, or email [email protected].

Full Circle Farm News

This has been a great year out at the farm. Teachers have watched students grow from August to May in their ability to see the connection between themselves and the planet. The We Are What We Eat mantra makes more sense to them now. All sixth grade students will end the year at the farm with a pizza baked in the Cobb oven right there at the farm. If you haven’t visited yet, make a point of getting there this summer to see this spectacular oven, donated by our Kaiser Permanente friends. Mrs. Fohner and the staff members at the farm will be creating a yearlong plan for 7

th graders by attending a Monterey Bay Aquarium workshop designed for that

purpose. The farm is growing in more ways than one!

Fresh Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables! Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Volunteer your services, Wednesday and Saturday. Get your hands dirty! Check the website for more: www.fullcirclesunnyvale.org Sign up for their newsletter.

Shakespeare at the Farm! Spend an evening with the Bard! Don’t miss a chance to be literate and pastoral under the stars.

The Two Gentlemen of Verona – June 2, 3, 10, 22, 29

Romeo and Juliet – June 8, 9, 17, 23, 30

Alice in Wonderland – June 15, 16, 21, 24, 28

Fight for the Farm fundraiser – June 27

Fridays and Saturdays beginning at 8pm, Sundays at 7:30pm. Donations are requested (recommend $10 for adults and $3.00 for youth).

No one will be turned away for lack of funds as long as seating is available. The shows have been very popular and filled to capacity

every night with limited, general seating on chairs and benches. This is an all outdoor venue and evenings can get chilly, so please dress

warmly. Parking in adjacent school parking lots is highly encouraged to avoid congestion in the neighborhood.

For further information about performances, please visit the Festival Theatre Ensemble website.

CONTACT: Jack Parees, FESTIVAL THEATRE ENSEMBLE. Email: [email protected]

Calendar Wellness! STRIVE TO THRIVE! Put October 11, 2012 on your calendar now so you can join our students for a Wellness Day, year three of our Health Fair. The farm and many community organizations will be there to help make the day yet another success. More to come in August.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.fullcirclesunnyvale.org/

http://www.festivaltheatreensemble.org/sunnyvale/



Meet the Peterson Staff

Birth Month: July

Birthplace: Hayward, CA

How many years at Peterson? 5 years

What do you like best about Peterson? We are very lucky to

have such great students. I love teaching PE and our students

motivate me to be a better teacher.

Favorite Colors: Orange

Favorite Subject in School: Chemistry

Favorite Book Genre: Non-Fiction

Favorite Food: Tacos, Tacos, Tacos

Who makes it best? Tacos Las Esmarelda, in Fremont

Where did you attend College? Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Favorite Place and Why: San Francisco. I love the food and all

the activities.

Favorite Middle School Memory? 6:00am basketball practice.

Anything Else? Be Kind, Be Honest, Work Hard!

Birth Month: October Birthplace: Hollywood, CA


What do you like best about Peterson? The students… I learn

from them as much as I hope they learn from me. I smile every

day.

Favorite Color: Green

Favorite Book Genre: Action & Mystery

Favorite Food: Zucchini & Apple Pie Who makes it best? Me!

Where did you attend College? Santa Clara University

Favorite Place and Why: My garden and hiking the Wildcat

Loop at Rancho San Antonio.

Favorite Middle School Memory? Talking our teachers into

letting girls wear slacks one day a week. (It was the first time girls

got to wear pants at school.) Yes, I’m old

Pets? Can I count my husband? Tee Hee

Anything Else? Peterson Rocks!.

Meet

Drew Gilmore

P.E. Teacher

Meet

Kathlen Twomey

Math Teacher

Birth Month: October

Birthplace: San Jose, CA

How many years at Peterson? 6 years.

What do you like best about Peterson? I love walking down the hall and seeing all the hard-working, respectful kids excited to learn.

Favorite Color: Orange

Favorite Subject in School: History

Favorite Book Genre: Historical Fiction Favorite Food: Sushi

Who makes it best? Yuke Sushi in Willow Glen

Where did you attend College? Saint Mary’s College

Favorite Pace and Why? Switzerland… an amazing place to visit. Favorite Middle School Memory Dressing up like Alexander the Great

for a school project.

Pets? A bulldog named Oskar.

Anything else to share? Go Patriots! GO Sharks!

Birth Month: May

Birthplace: San Jose, CA


What do you like best about Peterson? The mix of students and

how they represent a cross section of the world.

Favorite Color: Non-primary shades

Favorite Subject in School: History – Duh

Favorite Book Genre: Non in particular

Favorite Food: A Croques Monsieur

Who makes it best? The Left Bank

Where did you attend College? UC Santa Barbara

Favorite Place and Why: Jones Gulch YMCA Camp…

memories of growing up.

Favorite Middle School Memory: Either the 8th Grade graduation

dance or Mr. Kimoto’s Honors Science Class.

Pets? 2 Springer Spaniels – Ralf and Roxy

Meet

Brett Varga

6th

Grade Teacher

Meet

Sheila Martin

History Teacher


Gabriella Guillen Nicole Zazowski Poojan Karnik

Coutney Mausling Ramya Kantharaj Jennifer Tieu Alix Durieux

Jenni Dummett

DEPARTMENT NEWS

Art Update:

Along with finishing up projects in class, students from Peterson Middle School were given the

opportunity to have their artwork displayed at shows in Santa Clara and Saratoga. The students are so

excited for the opportunity to share their artwork with the local community, and the community is

impressed with the amazing talent of these young artists. The Santa Clara Art Day and Sister

Cities of Santa Clara shows were held at the beginning of April at the Triton Museum of Museum of

Art, a public gallery. Students and their families were invited to spend the day looking at student artwork

from Santa Clara Unified School District. Artwork was displayed at the museum for several weeks so

people from the community were able to view it as well. Congratulations to the following students whose work was chosen

for the Santa Clara Art Day exhibition: Eighth graders: Ritika Sharma, Juhee Park, Gabriella Guillen and Jenni

Dummett; Seventh graders: Sai Siddhaye, Debbie Lam, Poojita Dasika, Poojan Karnik, Ramya Kantharaj and Nikhita

Chandrashekar; Sixth graders: Alix Durieux, Ruby Rodriguez, Salsabila Solachuddin, Courtney Mausling and

Cameron Davis. Congratulations to the students who entered work in the Sister Cities of Santa Clara show which provides

a theme that students create original works of art for: Anthony Villa, Jennifer Tieu and Poojan Karnik.

A small group of students also displayed their beautiful artwork at the Saratoga Rotary Show held at West Valley

College. The students work was displayed alongside local professional artists. Students and their families enjoyed art

activities for children, food and a broad exposure to beautiful fine art pieces. Peterson’s students receive praise for their

incredible talented art pieces. Participants in the rotary show were Jenni Dummett, Ritika Sharma, Juhee Park, Gabriella

Guillen, Ramya Kantharaj, Nicole Zazowski, Tanya Shrivastava,, Poojan Karnik.

The annual Peterson Variety show held every year in May provides students with an opportunity to showcase many talents,

including art. Make sure to attend the evening performance on May 17 to view the lovely student work on exhibition.

Finally, students in art class successfully finished their Huichol Indian Yarn paintings, which were beautifully displayed at

open house! Parents were thrilled to view their student’s beautiful works of art which were based on folk tales meaningful

to the student. Students will finish the year working with oil pastels to create a Banyan Tree or studying and creating

patterns to create an Op Art piece!

Enrollment in Clay Arts for next year’s first ceramics class looks great! If your student is interested in signing up and has

already taken Art, there’s still room in the class. Please contact Mrs. Branch for more information!

AVID Class Update

AVID hosted a Family Night for the current AVID class in May, where students presented their college

choices to parents, siblings, and friends they brought along. Games were played, ice cream sundaes were


eaten (Thank you Sierra Smalls and family!), as we celebrated our

8th graders and looked at what their futures will hold.

Over 57 7th graders applied for AVID for the 2012-2013 elective

class! All those 57 students received letters in May which

explained that they were either in the class or on the wait list.

*If your student is scheduled to be in the class but has changed

his or her mind, please

contact Vivian Tavernakis

before the end of this

school year so we can open up those spots to our wait-listed

students.

*If your student is on the wait list for AVID, please encourage

him or her to talk to Louisa Urbani at the beginning of the school

year to see if spots have opened up.

*For ANY questions about the AVID program, please contact

Vivian Tavernakis, Louisa Urbani, or Kathleen Twomey.

Hello From The Culinary Arts Class!

For the 3rd year in a row our culinary arts/ FHA-HERO members shined at the California FHA-HERO State Leadership Conference in Fresno this past April 28-May 1st. Six of our students

competed in culinary events against middle and high school students from accross the state and 4 came home with trophies: Claire Park, 1st Place in Salad Preparation; Shelby Hong, 3rd Place in Salad Preparation; and Jill La Fetra and Ogechi Egonu, both 1st

Place in the Nutrition Education Team event. It was four action-packed days of competitions, industry tours, career fairs, workshops and other leadership activities. We are very proud of our, now, 11 trophies we've won in just 3 years! Congratulations to ALL of our competitors and to all who attended

to conference and represented Peterson with professionalism and pride.

We will be showing off thoses trophies in our brand new kitchen/classroom beginning May 14th. YES, we have finally moved...the wait has been worth it because the kitchen is both beautiful and functional. It will serve

future culinary arts students well for many years to come. We invite everyone to stop by and check it out!

We will end our year with one final Gourmet Galley Bistro lunch service to faculty, parents and staff as well as a

field trip to the International Culinary School in Campbell on May 18th. It has been an awesome year and we look forward to next year. Thanks to everyone for all your support. Bon Appetit!

Electives Department Update:

The Electives Department collaborated all year to start the development of an integrated project that could, in time, evolve into an even more comprehensive project that could include our Academic Departments as well. The theme of the project was to create a restaurant where students could explore various career avenues that elective classes lead to, and how those careers are implemented in real-world situations. To encourage community building which was a school-wide focus of Peterson this past academic year, students created entries specific to their elective class.

At Open House parents & students viewed the entries in each elective room and voted on their favorite. Culinary Arts students explored menu preparation and created the menus items to be offered at the beach restaurant, Skates in the Bay. Wood Arts explored careers related to carpentry and design and created stunning serving boards and napkin rings. Tech Literacy students researched digital design programs such as Adobe’s In Design software and developed designs for the menus. Finally, Visual Arts students focused on how graphic design could be used to create a logo for the restaurant, and students submitted their logo designs to be voted upon.

Votes were counted and each participating elective class chose a winning entry which will be showcased in the main office! The integrated project built a cohesive camaraderie between the


electives classes, and the students really enjoyed showcasing the skills they learned in their classes! Make sure to stop by the office and take a look.

From the English Department

As the year comes to a close, we want to congratulate our War of the Words poetry contest winners:

1st place winners: Niharika Bhat, Jasonjit Singh, and Surya Konkimalla

2nd place winners: Yash Jevaria, Nicole Zazkowski, and Milap Patel

Honorable Mentions: Ogechi Egonu and Warda Khan

Great job to Peterson's Poets!!

We would also like to congratulate our final round of top scorers for the national Word Masters Challenge:

8th graders: Jonathan Pham, Anna Jevtic, Arjun Ray, Hannah Villalpando, Renuka Garg, Ashley Yount, Tushar

Singla, Neal Manthani, and Amelia Wheaton.

7th graders: Noah Gallegos (perfect score!), Irene Pham, Jordan McGilvery, Poojita Daskia, Shashank Dholakia,

Selina Feng, Shivali Baveja, Shishir Dholakia, Sophie Krivokapic-Zhou, Tamara Pantic, Ayush Kumar, and

Avinash Rao.

6th grade: Alex Stock (perfect score!), Michael Crouch (perfect score!), Om Khandekar (perfect score!), Tracy

Rocha (perfect score!), Adit Anand, Shyam Kumar, Surya Konkimalla, McKenna Ma, Anand Das, Nashita Syeda,

and William Cao.

Congrats to all our Word Master super stars!

Math Department NEWS

As this year ends, we look forward to next year and to an even stronger commitment to having the best math students in the

state. During the summer, a class designed specifically to help our current seventh grade students succeed in Algebra, will

be offered. The class is called Step Up To Algebra, or S.U.T.A. This class will be offered to students who may benefit from

it, but it is not required. Qualified 6th grade students will be offered M.A.P. classes over the summer

(math acceleration program) as part of a grant-funded program to improve academic performance in

math.

2012-2013 - Exciting Changes for Next Year: There will be new Supplemental Math Classes to make Algebra I available to more of our Eighth

Graders. These students will receive direct support for their Algebra class, so they can be successful.

Also next fall, the Math Department will be introducing the Texas Instruments’ “TI-Nspire” as a

teaching aid (graphing calculators). At this time we expect that each 7th and 8th math teacher will have a class set. We hope

to integrate these new and unique teaching tools with both algebraic concepts and the Common Core Standards when they

are introduced in the future. See you in August!

Nature Area Guides

The Nature Area Guides have been excellent Field Trip Guides for the visiting Elementary Schools from the District. The final four field trips will be May 15, 17, 18 and 22nd. The Guides will have an End-of-the-Year Celebration at lunch on Wednesday, May 23. NEXT SCHOOL YEAR – Mark Your Calendars! All Guides—past, present, and future are invited to an Ice Cream Social from 3:00-5:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 26, the Sunday after the first week of school. This will be an annual event to be held as long as Mrs. Fohner is capable of driving to Peterson. Come and enjoy some time in our beautiful Nature Area.

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT NEWS – DISSECTION AND THE STARS!

The science department would like to recognize and congratulate all students who participated in the District Science Fair which took place May 16th @ Wilcox High School. Thanks to Mr. Sriram Palapudi for being parent representative at this

year’s Fair. We are very proud of your hard work. Open House was very eventful ~ It was very nice of you to stop by our classrooms to see all the good work students have produced this year. Thanks also to our wonderful PTSA for the

lovely gift of reading. We truly appreciate the time it takes to put together the school Book Fair and the donations we receive as a result. Mrs. Teng and Ms. Henderson are excited about their new science classrooms. Thanks to all the

students who have jumped in to help pack and unpack in their spare time. We


couldn't have done it without you! 7th graders have completed their unit on dissections; Cows’ eyes, worms, and squids were dissected and studied. Thanks to Mr. Asekomeh for assisting the EL/Basic Science students in their dissection of a cow's eye.

Mrs. Karve and Mrs. Robbins appreciate being included in this “eye opening”

activity! The 8th graders have presented their Invention Projects and are now studying astronomy. They're learning about the solar system, constellations, and the universe using multi media tools for research.

They should be experts on solar eclipses when they view one on May 20th with their new solar viewing glasses! We look forward to our trip to Saratoga

Springs and an exciting promotional ceremony. We have enjoyed watching our students grow and develop at Peterson and will miss them when they go.

Social Studies Fair Congratulations to the following students for their first place projects in this year's Social

Studies Faire:

Christina Fritschen; Joyce Huang Ooi; Katie Leong; McKenna Ma; Liam Olsen; Milap

Patel; Kiran Ray; Tracy Rocha; Joanne Shen; Tanya Shrivastava; Hayley Yount

Our guest judge panel scored the projects based on uniqueness of topic, effort, quality of construction, and thoroughness

of research. In addition, students submitted a paper to their social studies teacher who scored that part of the entry.

This year we had over 150 projects. Great job everyone!

Woods Class The kids have been busy making lots and lots of dust. Now the projects are coming to

completion and the kids are learning patience that their project need more sanding, but seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Soon there will be skateboards, long boards, Sector 9's, and many other projects leaving the shop. There will be many happy faces of kids carrying what

they made across campus as the other kids ooooh and aaawww at what they made. For those of you leaving with skateboards, be safe and wear protective gear at all times. I am looking forward to a new year in a new shop, with new faces and a whole new set of projects.

Have a happy, healthy and safe summer ~ Mr. J

A Message from the PTSA President – Ruchita Shah

Dear Peterson PTSA Families,

It is hard to believe we are finishing up this school year. I have heard many times that 'Time flies when you're having FUN'.

We at Peterson middle school are busier than ever with academics, after school clubs and other social events. I am thankful

that my child is part of this.

As my last letter for this year, I would like to thank everyone for giving me the opportunity to serve as Peterson PTSA

president. It is an honor and a pleasure to work with wonderful staff members, students and the community.

Thank you to each 2011-2012 PTSA Executive Board member who has helped get done all the work of our organization.

They worked tirelessly and with enthusiasm. Without their support events like Pirate Camp Parent Meet and Greet, two

Book-fairs, Fund Raisers, Staff Luncheons, Reflection Program, Parent Education Nights, two Bake Sales, Getting

Volunteers for all the events at school, Keeping up with Finances, Audit and most importantly NEWSLETTERS would not

have been possible. I am grateful to have a wonderful group standing by my side and work as a true united group with one

goal in mind: Help our KIDS. It was amazing and at the same time great to see Ajaipal Chahal and Nicolle Ayon as student


representatives attend all our meetings. Thank You to Ms. Harris and Ms. Robbins for providing much needed information,

giving their valuable inputs and their endless support.

A HUGE Thanks to 308 PTSA members and all the hardworking volunteers. Your support helped us achieve our goals.

This year we financially supported student Leadership activities, Pirate Camp and bring books to Library as well as

classrooms. You provided Peterson school and PTSA with 1,000 + volunteer hours. Your dedication and ready to help

attitude is greatly appreciated.

I would personally THANK all the staff for their tremendous efforts and can do attitude with our Kids. Many Thanks for

taking care of our kids and keeping them SAFE during CODE BLUE Lock-down. Our kids are in hands of wonderful staff.

It is good to see the kids mature and get feel of belonging to Peterson Community.

A HUGE THANKS to all the volunteers. I would like to share a quote from Elizabeth Andrew : "Volunteers do not

necessarily have the time ; they just have the heart". I can't thank you all enough for the support, dedication and kindness

you have shown time and again. This year especially, with Code Blue Luncheon and MEASURE A help. To

compensate the budget cut, SCUSD decided to go ahead with Measure A. Support from the community helped pass

Measure A. Indeed Parent involvement helps Student success.

Thanks everyone ~ Best Wishes to our graduating eighth graders.

Have a safe and enjoyable Summer break!!

See you in August.

Ruchita Shah

Peterson PTSA President

SCHOLASTIC BOOKFAIR A SUCCESS!!

This Spring's Bookfair held during Open House Week was a great success. It made over 40% more over last Fall's bookfair. With some of the profit, PTSA bought over $1,200.00 worth of books for the teachers and library, plus generous parents and students bought 55 books for the teachers from their Classroom Wish Lists! A big thank you to the parents that volunteered their time to come help at lunch and after school, plus the evening of Open House Night. A special thank you goes out to Christine Miller, who has co-chaired with me the last 3 years.I will be back in the Fall for Back-to-School. Hope we see you there!

Amy Kent Bookfair Chairperson

Cupcake Wars....Cake Boss....Move over.....the Pirates have arrived!

We are continually amazed by the talent and generosity of our Peterson families. In the fall for Back to

School Night and again in the spring for Open House, the bake sale offered a menagerie of epicurean

delights. Exotic, cultural treats and never tired of favorites were enjoyed by all who patroned the bake

sale. We truly appreciate the time each of you put into participating. Let's not forget out wonderful kids

and families who financially supported the bake sale. There were many happy tummies on May 3rd. Your generosity in

the fall raised over $650 and in the spring over $500. Thank you,

Jolene Soares

Bake Sales Coordinator


EXTRACURRICULAR & AFTERSCHOOL CLUBS

Afterschool Homework Center and ALEKS

We are winding down with our after school Homework Center and ALEKS programs. We will be honoring the students

with a pizza party after school on May 22, from 2:45pm – 3:30pm. Students who attended Homework Center and ALEKS

regularly throughout the second semester will be given a ticket to enter into the raffle drawing. Six lucky students will win

IPod Shuffles!

2012-2013 Plans for Catalina Island

The trip to Catalina is a wonderful fun and educational experience where students learn about the marine environment through snorkeling and classes. The Catalina Island Trip will be from October 18-21, 2012. The preliminary meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 5, 2012 in the library from 6:00-7:00 p.m. If you would like to fill out the forms before this date, they will be available on Mrs. Fohner’s web page. Cost of the three-day trip is $385. The Trip is open to 7

th and 8

th graders of good

academic and behavior record. Students will miss one day of class—Fri., Oct. 19th. Please contact Mrs. Fohner at [email protected] for additional information.

Community Service Club

The Community Service Club has wrapped up its year of service. Mr. Jolliff, Ms.

Gonzalez, and Mrs. Twomey are extremely proud of the commitment of our Club

members to service…this year has been filled

with many rewarding activities. One recent

activity was to help the science department move

back into their new D Wing classrooms and then

organize/save/recycle the many boxes from their

move.

On Thursday, May 10, we celebrated with an end-of-the-year party in Mrs. Twomey’s

room with a lunch of pizza, lemonade, and ice cream sundaes.

GAINS – WRAP UP for 2011-2012

GAINS ended the year with a special celebration and a speaker from Symantec at Wilson High School Girls-of-the-Grade were announced. From Peterson, Julie Chen was the 6th grade Girl-of-the-Grade, Rutu Patel and Alisha

Mehndiratta were 7th grade Girls-of-the-Grade, and Renuka Garg was the 8th grade Girl-of-the-Grade. Our final speaker

was our own very popular Ms. Kelly Villarreal. Ms. Villarreal described her own struggles to break into the food

industry. It was surprising how recently no women were chefs, or even in the food industry besides waitressing. Ms. Villarreal explained the wide range of choices currently available to women, and the types of institutions offering degrees in the food industry.

GAINS is particularly looking forward to the Astronomy Night that is being organized for November 1, 2012, with the excellent assistance of Mr. Van Pernis. It should be a spectacular event that will be open to the entire Peterson Community.

Science Club

The Science Club has had lots of fun this year. Looking back, we have tested our predictive skills using

a marble slide, gotten our wires crossed with an electronic game board, floated lots of marbles in

aluminum foil boats, tested our sailing skills (on land) with our land yachts, and brought the castle walls

down with out trebuchets. Now we are looking up to the sky with our rockets, which we will launch

May 25th. The rockets will go up a few hundred feet, but the kids are sure to stay in orbit for a while!

~ Written by Ross LaFetra



PETERSON SPORTS PAGE ~ FINAL EDITION 2012

What a year for Peterson Sports ! For the first time in our school’s history, all four of our basketball teams won the championship this season. The 8th

grade girls dominated volleyball and basketball as both their teams won championships while never losing a game. After the 8th grade girls went 9-0 outscoring their opponents by an average score of 41 to 10, the boys had to top that, and they did. The 8th grade boys team also went 9-0 outscoring their opponents by an average score of 62 to 27. The 8th grade boys basketball program has been on a roll with a record of 51-3 and 5 championships in the past 6 years. The 8th grade girls have won the championship in 3 of the past 4 years. The boys dominated Buchser 60-27 in the championship game proving to be one of the best boys teams ever at Peterson. Their 35 point differential was a Peterson record. They also set school records for scoring 34 points in one quarter, and averaging 20.1 points per game in the first quarter throughout the season. Co-Captains Vinay Narayanam, Julian Jones, and Chad Go formed “ THE BIG 3” and became the first kids ever to win back

2 back championships going undefeated in both seasons with a record of 19-0. They three averaged 45 points, 10 boards, 16 assists, and 14 steals per game between the 3 of them. Julian led the league in scoring. Chad was defensive player of the year, and Vinay was the league’s M.V.P. Miles Wolfe led the

team in rebounding with 69, and Lav Jovanovic finished out the starting five. Other players were Jake Kenney, Jacob Martinez, Daniel Scott, Tyler Guzman, Nico Lipari, Alex Kassem, and Kellen Liu. Coach Narcisso hopes the team learned a lot more about life, than they did about winning basketball games. Coach is really proud of the team and their team unity. He will definitely miss all the practices, hard work, jokes, laughs, and dedication all 12 players showed. Like he said, “ GREATNESS LAST FOREVER”. Their photo’s belong in the famous glass case located in front of the big gym.

Sports Update - Tennis Team is Playoff Bound

It’s been a wonderful season for the Peterson Tennis Team, finishing the season 4-4 and heading to the playoffs starting May 14th. The 32 member squad consisting of 6th,7th, and 8th grade girls and boys had great fun learning new strategies, practicing volleys and serves, and competing in an extremely competitive league. The team, led by captains Nam Nguyen and Daniel Huynh, hope to bring a trophy home to Peterson next week. Wish us luck! The team includes the following students and is coached by Lisa Johnson and Kent Marshall.

6th Grade: Cameron Davis; Michael Kao; Matthew Tolosa; Rafael Tolosa; Sahil Shah; Shyam Kumar

7th Grade: Selina Feng; Daniel Huynh; Ayush Kumar; Nikil Gupta; Avinosh Rao; Aditya Sriram; Ramsamy Subramanian; Pndhvi Vegesna; Kyle Young; Wesley Teng

8th Grade: Victor Chien; Nam Nguyen; Vincent Le; Brandon Lee; Ishita Wilson; Nithin Sriram; Shrithik Sareddy;

Yash Wani; Hana Watanabe; Harrison Ton; Juhee Park; Dean Yuan; Luca Matsamoto; John Yee; Fardeen Sayed; Jill Le Fetra

Track Team’s Tremendous Results!

Peterson track athletes once again proved themselves in the recent track meet at Wilcox High School. Racing against students from Buchser, Cabrillo, Callejon, Carden, Crittenden, and Monticello…the following student athletes outdid themselves.


All Track Results are available at: http://archive.dyestatcal.com/ATHLETICS/TRACK/2012/scval_1.htm

6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade

Seraiah Alexander – 1st Place – 100 Meters (14.36 sec), 1st Place - 200 Meters (29.10 sec), 1st Place - 400 Meters (1:07.29) McKenna Ma – 1st Place – Discus (48-04) Mykhaylo Ivchenko – 1st Place – 400 Meters (1:21.54)

Vaheeshta Mehrshani – 1st Place – Mile Run (6.29.55) Shivali Baveja – 1st Place – 200 Meters (30.79) Elizabeth Morales – 1st Place – 400 Meters (1:15.01) Nicole Zazkowski – 1st Place – High Jump (4-00) Brian LaFetra – 1st Place – 57M Hurdles (9.95) Trevor Jeter – 1st Place – 200

Meters (27.62) Nicholas Tran – 1st Place – Long Jump (12-08) Justin Vo – 1st Place – Long Jump (12-09) Tali Fine – 1st Place – High Jump (4-10)

Ashley Yount – 1st Place – Mile Run (6:05.93) Alina Kwiatkowski – 1st Place – Triple Jump (32-02) Iman Sherif – 1st Place – High Jump (3-10) Micah Lee – 1st Place – 57M Hurdles (10.51) Brent Natwick – 1st Place – 200 M (25.54) Brent Natwick – 1st Place – 400 M

(59.58) Daniel Scott – 1st Place – Long Jump (15-05) Lav Jovanovic – 1st Place – Triple Jump (33-03)

GIRLS RELAY TEAM – 1st Place – (1:03.82)

BOYS RELAY TEAM – 1st Place – (57.35)

Starting Arts - Design your own Summer Camp!

At Arts Escape, you can customize your schedule—choose up to 4 classes from our list of fourteen art, theater, dance and music classes, led by your favorite

Starting Arts teachers. Choices include: Pottery, Real Rock Band, Actors Workshop, Vocal Jam, African Drumming and Stepping, Photography, Fabric Art….and much more! Arts Escape is for ages 7-14. Session 1:

June 18-29 and Session 2: July 2-13 from 8:00am to 12:10 (no class July 4). We will also be running our popular theatre camp with the production of Footloose. We even have a film camp called Terra for those students in grades 6-12 who are interested in performing on screen and working behind the camera on a

professional film shoot. For class descriptions, location and enrollment please go to: www.SASummerCamps.com or contact Starting Arts at 408-492-9022.

Woods Club The kids worked their hearts out in the shop making gifts for people in the military that are deployed overseas. There was a checker board and pieces,

mancala, puzzles, etc. The kids were pulled this way and that for helping teachers move back into the science room and the projects were not

fully completed. Never fear, I will finish them this summer as my Moxie recovers from her leg surgery. I will send the projects out before the

new school year. I have enjoyed the enthusiasm of this group of kids. They help me believe that the kids of today still care about people other than themselves. I am so proud of all the kids in the club

and wish them the best in all that they have ahead of them next year! ~ Written by Mr. J.

http://archive.dyestatcal.com/ATHLETICS/TRACK/2012/scval_1.htm

http://www.sasummercamps.com/


Calendar Events May 25 - 6-7

th ASB Elections/Student Rec Day

**May 25 - Saratoga Springs – 8th Grade Trip

May 29 - Perfect Attendance Awards **May 31 - 8

th Grade Promotional Dance

June 1 - 8th Grade Promotion – Last Day of School

2012/2013 School Year Aug 1 - School Office Reopens Aug 10 - Residency Checks

(9am - 11:30am & 1pm - 3pm) Aug 13 - Residency Checks (9am - 11:30am & 6pm – 8pm) Aug 14 - Residency Checks (9am – 11:30am & 1pm – 3pm) Aug 14 - Pirate Camp for Incoming 6

th Graders

Aug 20 - First Day of School Aug 30 - Back To School Night Sept 5 - Catalina Island Trip Meeting (6pm in Library) Oct 12 - Health Fair

** Volunteers needed for this event.

Peterson Middle School

1380 Rosalia Ave.

Sunnyvale, CA 94087-3763

Summer Options for Students (most summer

flyers are available in the office):

Art Classes - Triton Art Museum (for future high

school students)

California Theatre Center (CTC) website is

www.ctcinc.org Student discounts are available for

SCUSD students‼

Santa Clara Parks and Rec - After the Bell! (flyer

available)

Basketball Camps – Legarza Basketball Camp (see

Coach Narcisso)

Tech Camps (flyers available) 5 day camp @

SCUSD/CCOC - low cost @ $10 - June 4-10th @ the

CCOC

Santa Clara City Library TeenRead 2012 - Sign ups

for 2012 TeenRead begin June 1, 2012, for Grades 7-12.

Finishers will receive a $10.00 Barnes and Noble Gift

Card & a chance to win an Amazon Kindle Fire. The last

day to sign up for TeenRead is Saturday, July 16. For

more information on this and other summer events, visit

the Library’s website at www.library.santaclaraca.gov.

Change Service Requested

http://www.ctcinc.org/

http://www.library.santaclaraca.gov/

summer newsletter #5

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