Spring 2023
Welcome to the Alumni and Community Newsletter for WHS alumni, parents of alumni (PALs), and community members. Sent in the Fall and Spring, it helps keep you connected to all the latest and greatest news from Woodside High School. Go Wildcats!
Class of 2023 Graduating to Success
Wildcats are college bound, and their plans are exciting!

Students were headed to many places this fall -private colleges, including Brown, Columbia, University of Chicago, Caltech, Duke, University of Southern California, TCU, Tufts, Reed, Chapman, and the University of Boston; out-of-state public universities, including the University of Washington, University of Arizona, University of Virginia, University of Colorado and Oregon State; all the University of California campuses with many attending UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Davis; California State schools; and many wildcats will attend our local nationally ranked community colleges including Foothill and Canada with plans to attend a UC when they complete their Associate's Degree.

Congratulations, Class of 2023!
Team 100 Wildhats Attend the World Championships
Woodside’s First Robotics Competition (FRC) team achieved success with their robot at Silicon Valley Regional (SVR) 2023. The Wildhats took home victory at the SVR 2023 and advanced to the World Championships in Houston. The Silicon Valley Regional is one of the most competitive FRC tournaments in the World, this year seeing competition from Taiwan, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Team 100 Wildhats won this competition with their amazing alliance teammates.

In mid-April, the Wildhats competed in the FRC World Championships in Houston. They represented the program's talent, tenacity, and fun while fiercely competing with teams worldwide. Also, the team made connections and learned new skills from the best international and local groups. While they didn't make it into the finals, we look forward to them returning to the World Championships again!
WHS Spring Online Auction Is Open!
The "Wine Country" themed WHS Auction is a vital fundraiser supporting all WHS students through college prep, class size reduction, enhanced electives, counseling, and more.

You can participate in two ways: Bid in the online auction or donate to this year's Fund-a-Need. 

The online auction is now open and runs through May 19

Some of the exciting auction items include:

  • The easiest party you'll ever have! Catering is by WHS Culinary Arts students, and the WHS Jazz Ensemble provides music.
  • Experience the best of SF's galleries and art world with the hugely popular SF Art Tour.
  • Getaway to gorgeous Florence, Italy, with a 7-night stay at the iconic Baglioni Relais, Santa Croce.

Click here to access all these fantastic auction items and more!
Each year Woodside High School administration identifies a program to benefit all Woodside students as our Spring, "Fund-a-Need."

This year, our Fund-a-Need is to expand our WHS College Access Program (CAP) even further. The CAP is the school's new, innovative college prep program launched in the 2022-23 school year through generous donations to the Foundation. It provides college campus tours, test prep, college essay coaching, and career expos at no cost to students.

Check out our Fund-a-Need video to learn more about the College Access Program! Listen to Principal Van Putten, school counselors, students, and teachers talk about the impact of the program. It will take all of us and every single donation counts to expand the program into the future!
Juniors Inspired by Southern California College Tour 
Nearly 50 juniors chaperoned by SDSU alumni staff members Mr. Negri, Ms. Perdikomatis, Mr. Gonzalez, and counselor Ms. Grimaldi visited six college campuses to provide students with a taste of what life at a CSU, UC, and private university is like.

To personalize the experiences, several WHS alumni met with the students to offer their perspectives about their majors, campuses, and life beyond WHS. They toured UC San Diego, San Diego State University, CSU San Marcos, CSU Long Beach, Chapman University, and Loyola Marymount University.


"My favorite part was experiencing the difference between all these colleges and being able to experience the diversity and culture and life that we don't see at home."

"Thank you [donors] for paying for this trip. I had no idea what college I wanted to go to and now I have a top contender and I intend on applying and hopefully going to this college."

This overnight trip, along with one-day local college community and four-year college bus trips, college essay workshops, SAT/ACT Test Prep workshops, and Developing a Balanced College List workshops, are all part of the Foundation's Fund-a Need on the College & Career Access Program (CAP), providing all students access to these programs for free.
Spring and Winter Sports Highlights
Girls Soccer: The team again finished in the top half of the PAL Bay division this year. Advanced to the CCS Division 2 playoffs and on the CCS Quarterfinal vs. Lincoln HS. We are looking forward to another strong season next year. 

Boys Soccer: Coming off of their CCS Finals appearance from last season. The JV and varsity teams had many great moments on the field during the season. Both teams should remain strong for next season. 

Girls Basketball: Qualified for the CCS tournament this season with a great regular season. The team enjoyed having our Friday night "Quads" back this year. We anticipate that both programs will remain competitive next season in the PAL.

Boys Basketball: We were on the brink of the CCS tournament but missed out. That said, there were many great games this season by all three teams! Again for this season, we had three entire teams - freshman, JV, and varsity - and also enjoyed the Friday night home "Quads." 

Wrestling: We are giving a big shoutout to our first-year head varsity coach, Dan Peterson, who guided our wrestling program to success this season. The JV team finished first in the PAL, which will lead to varsity success in the future. Three wrestlers qualified for the CCS tournament - a tremendous accomplishment.

Badminton: Right in the middle of the PAL Ocean division play, the program has enjoyed success this spring. As with every season, WHS hosted the PAL Ocean Division Badminton Tournament in early May.

Boys Golf: The boys' golf team had a great team win vs. Sequoia on April 19. League play finished the last week of April, and the CCS qualifying tournament occurred in early May. The team has enjoyed success under Head Coach Chris Dawkins' guidance.  

Baseball: The baseball program has enjoyed much success this season and is in the middle of league play. The varsity team currently sits in third place in the PAL and has an overall record of well above .500. They are in the hunt for an automatic CCS bid but also have a great chance of a CCS bid as an at-large team based on their overall record. The CCS tournament is in mid-May. 

Softball: We are thrilled to have two teams again this softball season - JV and varsity. Both programs have succeeded and will carry the momentum into May. The CCS softball tournament is also in mid-May as the varsity team looks to qualify. As with most spring sports, softball is in the middle of the PAL season. 

Boys Tennis: PAL Ocean Division champions with an undefeated league record means the program moves into the top PAL Bay Division for the next season. Under the guidance of coaches Kim Grant and Lauren Denenberg, the team qualified for the PAL individual tournament (a huge accomplishment). Six players made the PAL All-League Team, the most from any school in the league. Congratulations on a great season. 

Swimming: We just concluded the PAL season, with their last home meet and senior day; the team competed at the PAL trials and finals the previous weekend of April. The swim team also sent several swimmers and relay teams to the CCS championships. It has been a great spring season at the WHS pool.  

Boys Lacrosse: We want to welcome first-year varsity coach Michael Nienkerk to his first season at WHS. The boys are midway through their inaugural season in the PAL. The boys had their last home game in early May, where they recognized their seniors at senior night. 

Girls Lacrosse: Once again, with significant participation numbers, the girls have fielded two teams, JV and varsity. The girls are currently at the top of the WBAL Skyline division and completed the regular season the last week of April. The girls' varsity team made the WBAL playoffs again this spring and had their first playoff game in early May.

Track: The track program has concluded its league season and attended the PAL Trials. With their first year in the PAL Bay Division, the track team defeated Aragon this season for the first time in over 30 years. WHS expects to have one athlete qualify for CIF State Track Meet, which will take place on Saturday, May 27, in Clovis. 
Spring Musical Cinderella - Student Honored!
Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella ran for two weeks in March to a full house and a standing ovation after each performance. The student-designed and fabricated set design was dramatic, and the costumes completed the fantasy.! Supported by the WHS orchestra in the pit, the actors and actresses had incredible vocal range and timing.

Izzy Wynne was nominated for the Rita Moreno Awards for supporting actor in her performance as the Stepmother! Congratulations to her and all Wildcat thespians!
Commemorative Bricks
Do you want to congratulate your graduate? Remember an alumnus? Honor a teacher or coach?

Leave a legacy with this great gift. For $150, your personalized brick will be placed on the entrance walkway in front of the administration building, a permanent part of the landscape at Woodside High School. 

Click the link to purchase a commemorative brick.

Questions? Contact Naomi at [email protected].

The Woodside High School Foundation is a volunteer-run nonprofit organization whose sole purpose is to raise funds to close the gap between public funding and the cost of high-quality education.

Most private high schools in the area such as Menlo and Sacred Heart have alumni and parent of alumni (PAL) giving programs. Why not public schools that need it the most? There is no more deserving school than WHS and its hard-working students who come from such diverse, socio-economic backgrounds. 

Consider supporting WHS today!