Welcome to the thirty-fourth edition of
Panther Press,
a biweekly electronic newsletter sent to families and friends of
San Joaquin Memorial High School
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The end of the school year is in sight and we are excited! Here is an update on student activities guidelines, student success, and more! Stay tuned for the next issue, where we will have an update on end of the year activities! |
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A Note on Unsanctioned School Events Involving Students
From Head of School Michael Burke
I write to you this afternoon in an attempt to bring some clarity to a recent development
among the SJM student body. It has come to my attention that private parties, dances or events are being planned for the end of the 2020/21 school year. For the most part it appears that these happenings are aligned along grade levels.
While we understand the desire to have end of the year formal events, given the current
restrictions on schools for gatherings it is impossible for SJM to host these types of events.
Please understand that there are so many important events happening at this time of the year the risk of a large gathering is ill advised. Protocols from the Fresno Department of Public Health, would require that if a student who attended an event subsequently tests positive for COVID-19, every student who attended the event would be required to quarantine for 10 days.
With AP exams, graduation, Baccalaureate Mass, sporting events, final exams and other end of the year traditions on the horizon, the risk is not worth the reward for these unsanctioned events.
It would be devastating for a large segment of a grade level to not sit for their AP exams or attend Graduation because they are in quarantine.
I would like to make it perfectly clear that none of these events are school sponsored or even school sanctioned. There has been mention that any proceeds from the event will be given to the school. Acceptance of any proceeds from an event would make the event a school event and shift liability to SJM and that is not permissible.
I hope this clarifies some of the misconceptions about these events.
Thank you,
Michael Burke
Head of School
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Yearbooks and Student Success |
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Serving Others: SJM Service Projects |
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The San Joaquin Memorial High School Service Education department has been busy this month and last month, with several enriching activities! Service Education Coordinator Veronica Cortez provides updates below. |
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- Campus Beautification Project
- Virtual Pet Show for Nazareth House
- HOPE Sanger Food Drive
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Nathalie Medrano, Spencer Douangphouxay, Izabella Vasquez, Annalisa Rouse and Megan McCraw, juniors at SJM, chose HOPE Sanger as this semester's school-wide canned food drive. The slogan for the drive was Together We Can Give HOPE. HOPE Sanger is a multi-denominational faith based non-profit organization. Originally established to provide food and other necessities to the homeless and needy families of Sanger, CA, due to the increased homeless population it has since expanded to include a temporary transitional living center. HOPE Sanger took management of a 17 room motel and converted it to a valuable community resource center. HOPE Sanger provides assistance to an estimated 10,000 people yearly and this is the main reason why the team decided to help. One hundred and thirty-five San Joaquin Memorial High School students took part in the drive, donating more than 3,000 canned food and non-perishable food items along with 40 cases of water which far exceeded the team's goal.
We would like to give a special "Thank you" to Mr & Mrs. Medrano and Mrs. Douangphouxay for helping us load, drive and unload all the canned food drive items to HOPE Sanger.
"HOPE Sanger is grateful for all the SJM students, parents and staff that participated in the food drive/collection," said Julie Mendoza, CEO/Director of HOPE Sanger. "The entire event was well planned and communicated from start to finish!"
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SJM Students hosted a Zoom Virtual Pet show for the Fresno Nazareth House recently. The Fresno Nazareth House is a Catholic Assisted Living Facility. SJM students held an hour-long Virtual Pet Show where they introduced themselves and their pets to the residents at the facility. They then rocked the runway in a pet costume fashion show and ended the event with showcasing their pet's talents. The students were creative with their pets' costumes. There were Bumble bees, pigs, sport fans, doctors, rappers and much more. Some of the pets danced, showed tricks on command and played fetch for some tasty treats. The residents at the Nazareth House voted Ryland Bailey and his dog Leia as the pet show winner for best costume, Princess Leia & Han Solo (pictured above). Leia showed she can follow commands of sitting, shaking hands and twirling on her hind legs. All the students did an amazing job with their pets and put on a great show for the residents at the Fresno Nazareth House.
"I feel that I made a direct impact with the organization because I was able to bring joy to the residents of the Nazareth House, especially when my dog hilariously would not do her tricks."- Ashley Collins '22
"The pet show was a bunch of fun and I’m glad the Nazareth House was able to provide their residents with something during the pandemic."- Carlo Bravo '21
"This service project, I felt, had a great positive impact on my community because the people at the Nazareth House have had little to no human interaction with the outside world, and having the chance to be able to put a smile on their faces could just make their lives a whole lot better during the pandemic."- Ryland Bailey '24
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On April 6 and 7, a Freshman Beautification Day was held on campus.
The Freshman Beautification Day was a great way to teach the Class of 2024 all about service and its benefits.
The Service Education department received help from the upperclassmen to help lead the Freshman class on their day of service on campus during Spring break.
The Freshman class served by giving our statues and plaques around campus a little TLC by gently scrubbing and washing them. Mr. Duncan took some time out of his Spring break to lend a hand in the garden behind Holy Cross Hall. The students tended to the garden by weeding the garden boxes, raking up winter brush and pruning the grape vines.
Meanwhile a third group of students served at the football stadium by washing the cheerleader's boxes to ensure they were game ready and picked up litter around the stadium and under the bleachers. In the 2 days of the Freshman Beautification Service Project, there were 52 freshmen and 9 upperclassmen that participated.
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Sports Success at Memorial: Signings, Victories, Growth |
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Congratulations to SJM Junior Emilio Carvalho. After four days and 250 rounds, he qualified for the 2021 USA Shooting Junior Worlds Team. This team will represent Team USA and compete at the Junior World Championships in Lima, Peru at the end of September.
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Congratulations to Catherine Gleason, who signed on April 1 with Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa during a signing ceremony at Memorial. Catherine accepted a volleyball scholarship!
Congratulations Catherine!
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Ms. Frye's AP Literature course held their annual AP Lit AUTHORity Dinner on campus in late March. The 10th dinner so far, it was the first on campus itself. Students selected an author of their choice whom they “become” by the finale dinner. This year’s authors were Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, John Green, J.D. Salinger, Lois Lowry, Kiera Cass, C.S. Lewis, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tennessee Williams, Friedrich Nietzsche, Susanna Clarke, Jane Austen, and Cormac McCarthy. |
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"This experience combines the literary analysis tools they learn in AP Lit with their own passion for reading or for a certain era/author, and as such I think it is a wonderful opportunity to synthesize their learning and interests."
-Ms. Carlie Frye, AP Lit Teacher
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Want access to the latest pictures of student activities, sports and more? Or the latest updates? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or check out our website!
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Please note that the SJM Panther Den Store is only open 7am to 1pm |
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Alumni Contact Update
Panther Alums, even though your time here at Memorial has passed, this is still your home! Please stay connected with us so that you can be part of our exciting engagement opportunities such as our sporting event tailgates, alumni mixers and so much more! To stay connected please fill out this form.
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Join our Parent Guild or Booster’s Club!
Interested in getting involved at SJM and supporting the school? Join our Parent Guild or Booster’s Club! Contact Shirley Boujikian for more information regarding the Parent Guild at [email protected], (559) 475-5831 and [email protected] for more information on the Booster’s Club.
Click here for the application forms:
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