Volume 7 Issue 6 | January 2024 | |
| Career Day | Stampede | Grad Night | | Feb 15, 12:30 p.m. | May 18, 9 a.m. | Jun 6, 9 p.m. – 2:30 a.m. | | Want to spark ambition in our youth? Share your career narrative with them.
Sign up to share, no prep nor formal presentation is needed.
Lend a hand with event setup and post-event clean-up. Sign up. | Preparations are underway for the 8th Annual Stampede 5K run/walk!
We're on the lookout for enthusiastic volunteers to help with planning over the next 3 months | Join the Grad Night Team.
Your contribution as a volunteer can make this event unforgettable. We're eagerly looking for more hands on deck! | | |
Interested in volunteering? | Keep reading for HSC updates and highlights from our campus representatives, with updates from the principal, ASB student liaison, teacher liaison, school boosters, and college and career specialist. | |
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Staff Appreciation Update
Kicking off 2024, the HSC Hospitality Team greeted our dedicated teachers and staff with tasty bagels from Noah's. A huge shout-out to all our hospitality volunteers for this delicious gesture!
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HSC Meeting Minutes
Come join our next meeting on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024 at 7 p.m.
Minutes from past meetings and dates of upcoming meetings can be found on the HSC website.
Contact us any time with questions or suggestions at president@leighhsc.org.
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HSC Recent Expenditures & Grants
The following programs and activities were funded:
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| Staff Appreciation/Hospitality: Jan Snack Bagels | $125 | | Staff Appreciation/Hospitality: Dec Staff Treats | $84 | | Staff Appreciation/Hospitality: Oct Baked Potato Bar | $121 | | College & Career Center (CCC): Food, drinks & supplies for Student Alumni Meet & Greet event | $234 | | Staff Grant: 3D Printing Supplies for SAI/English | $557 | | Scholarships for college applications
| $530 | | Staff Grant: Mock Trial Registration | $610 | | |
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The following grant requests were approved at the January HSC meeting:
- Physics Olympiad Club: Exam Registration Fee - $210
- Fish tank supplies for Special Education class - $150
- Robotics Club: additional parts and materials - $500
- History/Social Science Collaboration Day - $853
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It's not too late to donate!
Leigh Home & School Club
5210 Leigh Ave.
San Jose, CA 95124
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Corporate Matching
If you have already donated to the Home & School Club, check out our Double the Donation online tool to quickly and easily see if your employer will match your donation.
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Leigh High School Home and School Club is an all volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Tax ID # is 77-0199809. All donations are tax-deductible.
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Join Us as a Volunteer at
Leigh High School's 4th Annual Career Day
Thursday, Feb. 15
12:30 – 2:30 p.m.
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We're excited to invite parents, relatives, friends, community members, and beyond to participate in a unique and engaging Career Fair at Leigh. Whether your path was straightforward or filled with unexpected twists, we want to hear from you! | |
Let's make this year's event even more impactful! | |
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Who Can Volunteer?
- You don’t have to be a school parent or currently working. Just bring your experiences and stories. Please share the signup link with your colleagues, neighbors, friends, and extended family members!
What's Involved?
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Your Role: Chat about your career at a booth/table, a small and casual setting.
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No Formalities: No need for formal presentations and slides – just a casual conversation with our students.
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Diverse Careers Wanted: From traditional to unconventional, every career is fascinating. We’re especially eager to hear from those in artistic fields or new-age careers like AI, animation, design, etc.
Why Participate?
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Inspire the Next Generation: Help students discover careers they never knew existed and answer their burning questions.
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Networking Opportunity: A chance for parents to network with other professionals and educators, leading to beneficial connections.
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Understanding Current Interests: It's a chance for parents to understand the interests and aspirations of today's youth, which can be enlightening and informative.
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Encourage your ninth to twelfth graders to join us right after school on this minimum day for our exciting event. As students engage with our community members, they'll collect stamps. More stamps mean more treats — free pizza and cookies await their curiosity and participation!
Questions? Please feel free to contact the volunteer lead for this project: Holli Roever at hroever@gmail.com
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Longhorn Stampede 5K Run/Walk
Saturday, May 18, 2024
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Come join us for a wonderful community celebration!
Leigh's 8th Annual Longhorn Stampede 5K Run/Walk will take place on Saturday, May 18, 2024. The Stampede brings our entire community together – students, staff, parents, families, neighbors, friends, friends of friends, and local businesses!
This event is organized by our Leigh Booster Clubs – Home & School Club, Sports Boosters, Spirit Boosters, and PAPA. All proceeds go towards supporting programs for all of our Leigh students.
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Senior Parents: Purchase Grad Night Tickets
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We are so excited to have this year’s Grad Night at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk! This is a Safe, Sober event for the entire class of 2024. It will be the Ultimate Grad Party! This event is organized by the Home & School Club Grad Night Committee. (Thank you to all our parent volunteers!) | |
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Fundraising For Grad Night
- Dining Night Out at Pizza My Heart Date: March 18, 2024
- Online Auction for reserved parking and seating at graduation
- Custom Lawn signs for Leigh Graduates (coming soon)
- Soliciting Donations – When purchasing a ticket, consider donating the price or partial price of a ticket as a scholarship for other Leigh seniors who may need help to enjoy this celebration
- Goodwill Donation truck: March 31 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. in the Leigh parking lot.
- Approved items include:
Adult & Children’s Clothing
Shoes & Boots
Accessories
Toys
Books
Small Household Appliances
Electronics
E-Waste
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Campus Representative Updates | |
At each HSC meeting, campus representatives share important reports and insights. | |
Principal's Highlights
Brandon Wall
Academic Performance Update: Fall Semester:
- Leigh experienced overall academic improvement in the 2023 fall semester, with a 1% increase across the student body and more significant gains among English Learners, particularly those who have been in the country longer, with improvements ranging from 5% to 12%.
Jan 17-18 Staff Collaboration:
- During this week's professional development sessions, Leigh staff analyzed grade data and explored strategies for supporting students with anxiety and focus challenges.
Facility Updates:
- Over the holiday break, the stadium lights were fully upgraded. Plus, the over 25-year-old stadium entrance sign is set to receive a fresh new look!
- Security Enhancement: Approximately half of the campus cameras have been upgraded to new models, featuring wider coverage and higher resolution
- Steady progress continues on the kitchen construction, staying on schedule for a grand opening in the 24/25 school year.
24-25 Course Programming:
- Recently, informational evenings were hosted for incoming ninth grade parents and another for 10-12 grade parents. These sessions, led by counselors and teachers, covered course options, and Ms. G provided insights on college and career readiness. View the Leigh website for more information and links to presentations. Throughout the last two weeks of January, students participated in tutorials about AP, Honors, and Elective courses.
Professional Development Day: Wednesday, 1/31
Winter Ball Success: A record turnout of 950 students made this the largest event in the past three years, thanks to the exceptional promotion by our ASB team.
Read Principal Wall's full report.
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Teacher Update
Ms. Smiley
Wacky Winter Week: teachers had a great time dressing up for the themes for Wacky Winter Week. See “Dress Like a Student Day” photos in the next column.
Yearbook Senior Ads: The deadline for purchasing "Senior Salutations" for the yearbook is Feb 16t. Order now.
3D Design Achievement: Students excelled in their ceramic mug project, crafting creative, functional designs with zero leaks. Celebrations included a festive hot chocolate bar.
Sociology Update: Ms. Tanner's class is exploring deviance through the lens of academic dishonesty, examining AI implications, justification tactics, and Dan Ariely's research, alongside an illustrative M&M experiment.
AP Gov Highlights: Students are examining the Republican primaries and Congress's powers, enriching their studies with political films, current events, and interactive tools like iCivics and Pixton for legislative process education. For further ways to help AP Gov at Leigh, please go to Ms. Tanner's Donors Choose project.
Psychology Brief: Focusing on motivation and stress, students are identifying character strengths, setting SMART goals for 2024, and crafting 'Intent' bracelets, with materials funded by the Home and School Club.
Foods Class Progress: We're gearing up for a Junior Chef Competition on April 17 against local high schools.
Close Up Washington DC Trip: 17 students journeyed to DC in Jan, joining over 200 peers nationwide in workshops. Highlights included Capitol Hill Day, discussions with Rep. Anna Eshoo's office, observing live congressional debates, and touring the White House. Next year's trip will include the Presidential Inauguration!
Read Mrs. Smiley's full report.
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College and Career Specialist
Nathalie Goricanec
- Nov 30: The deadline for most California public school applications was met, thanks to our essay volunteers who ensured all students were prepared to submit their applications.
- December: Our volunteers worked tirelessly to assist students with their application essays.
- January: We welcomed Leigh alumni, starting from the class of 2018, for a special social event, which also provided a chance for current students to network during tutorial sessions.
- The entire school was invited to a College Readiness presentation. Additionally, juniors and their parents have opportunities for one-on-one meetings.
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SAT at Leigh: Juniors, mark your calendars for the SAT on April 19, coordinated thanks to Ms. Goricanec, Mr. Wall, Ms. Jackson, and Ms. Grim. Seats are available, exclusively for Leigh Juniors.
- Leigh is looking for dependable individuals to serve as SAT proctors, offering compensation of $15/hour, with shifts over 3 hours. Applicants must be legally eligible to work and will undergo CUHSD fingerprinting. Duties include test setup, student oversight, and collection of materials, with provided training. Interested parties should fill out the application form.
- Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): Information on the requirements can be found on the CUHSD FAFSA/CADAA Webpage.
- Career Day is looking for volunteers:
- Want to spark ambition in our youth? Share your career narrative with them. Sign up to share, no prep nor formal presentation is needed.
- Lend a hand with event setup and post-event clean-up. Sign up.
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College and Career Center Resources: | |
The Home & School Club supports the academic and social-emotional well-being of all students at Leigh High School. There are three additional booster clubs at Leigh that support extra-curricular activities. All boosters operate independently of each other. | |
Sports Boosters
Sports Booster Website
- The winter season has drawn to a close with both girls and boys soccer teams proudly clinching first place.
- Get ready for the spring sports season which started on January 29. View details of tryouts and games for Spring Season on the Leigh website Athletics webpage.
- Don't forget to support our teams by checking out the Sports Boosters merchandise program.
- Sports Booster Fundraiser: “Community Care Event” Fundraiser at Chick Fil-A on Tue, Feb. 13, 4 – 8 p.m. View flyer.
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Performing Arts Parent Association
PAPA Website
PAPA is a volunteer-run organization, supporting all of the performing arts students, teachers, staff and organizations at Leigh High School. Financial support is provided by a combination of general fundraisers, program-specific fundraisers, and parent and community donations.
- Mattress Sale: Save the date for a comfy cause in April, date to be announced.
- Theatrical Highlights: "Video Mania" takes center stage from March 15–23, followed by the spring musical "Curtains" from April 19–27.
- Music Department News: Winter percussion and guard are both in full swing, developing their shows and engaging in fundraising for the competitive season ahead.
- Stay Updated: Visit the PAPA website's calendar for all event dates and details.
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Save the Date!
We'll see you at the next HSC meeting Monday, Feb. 26, 7 p.m. in the school library.
Everyone is welcome!
| Find information, volunteer opportunities, and photos at our website leighhsc.org. | |
Leigh High School Home and School Club is an all volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Tax ID # is 77-0199809. All donations are tax-deductible. | | | | |
