Principal Matters

‘Tis the season to be jolly and we have made it half way through the school year. As we approach 2012, we have a lot to be thankful for and we have more to expect in the new year.

In reflecting on the first semester we are happy to report the following:

• Over 200 freshmen have visited a college campus and have set their sights on attaining this notable goal.
• We have over 170 students registered for IB testing in the Spring (accounting for 431 exams).
• We have established an EL support team made up of teachers and support personnel to best support our English Learner population.
• We have established an Intensive team, made up of teachers and support staff in efforts to support our most at-risk students.
• We have successfully rolled out the 2nd freshman team and are looking to establish a team at the 10th grade level.
• We are articulating our School Action Plan and preparing for the WASC visit in March.
• We have continued to grow as professionals in our work with UC Berkeley’s Literacy Project.

And of course, we kept the Battle of Strip Trophy after our victory against Mills Varsity foot-ball team. But most noteworthy, our staff is thrilled to be apart of this special community of students and staff.
Wishing you a blessed holiday season and a Happy New Year!
 
-Mrs. Shanks

2nd Semester Student Class Schedules Pick-Up

All students must pick up a new schedule print-out be-fore the first day of the second semester, even if there are no changes to your schedule. The first day of the second semester is Tues-day, January 10th.The Schedule Pick-Up Window is Monday, January 9th from 2:00 - 4:30pm in the Community Conference Room.
Students must turn in all overdue books or pay fines before receiving schedule. Last opportunity to pick up schedules on Tuesday, January 10th from 7:15-7:55am in the Cafeteria.

-Mrs. Navarro

Construction Update

Main Gym Lobby: 

• Structural steel erection is com-plete.
• Metal stud framing is in progress.
• Roofing installation is scheduled to begin on 11/21.
• Aluminum curtain wall/window system installation will begin on 12/5.

Humanities Building:

• Metal stud framing is in progress.
• Sheet rock installation is in progress on the ground floor.
• Exterior sheathing is nearly complete.
• Lathe installation for the exterior stucco system is complete on the west half of the building. Installation on the east end of the building will begin on 11/28.
• Window installation is complete on the west half of the building and in progress on the east half.
• Roofing is in progress and should be complete in the next 2 weeks.
• Mechanical, electrical and plumbing rough in is complete on the ground floor and nearly complete on the 2nd floor.
• Site concrete work is in progress in various locations around the site.

Theater:

• Metal stud framing in the basement is in progress.
• Structural steel erection for the new mezzanine area is complete. Steel erection inside the large theater and above the main stage is in progress.
• Metal roof installation is complete above the large theater.
• Roofing above the small theater is ongoing and should be com-pleted by 11/18. 
• Mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire sprinkler installation is in progress through out the large and small theater buildings.

Humanities Arts Satellite Building:

• Metal stud framing is in progress.
• Roofing is scheduled to begin on 11/21.
• Mechanical, electrical and plumbing rough in is nearly com-plete at the interior walls.

Tutoring in the 21st Century

Capuchino High School has launched an exciting partner-ship with Tutor-cloud, a service that enables our Guided Studies students to receive help in their classes from Capuchino alumni who are now in college. Tutorcloud provides the tools necessary for students to receive help using an online classroom, and as Tutorcloud says, “our online classroom is cool, We've got video, audio, chat, and a pretty nifty whiteboard that makes working on math problems even easier than in-person tutoring. Working on essays is a breeze with our online document sharing. Need to share a textbook page or worksheet with your tutor? No problem. Just hold it up to your webcam and our "cloud capture" will take a high-res photo and import it into the classroom for you to work on.” 

We currently have 11 students receiving help from three Capuchino alumni two times per week. Not only can these tutors re-late to the students at Capuchino and help them with their schoolwork but they can also provide our students with ad-vice on getting into college and what college life is really like. They also get a chance to experience the future of tutoring.

College Knowledge...a Counseling Update

Counselors have been nice and busy helping Seniors with college applications, writing recommendation letters and reading over Personal Statements. This is an exciting time of year for both counselors and Seniors. We feel like we have written more letters this year than ever, which means we have more students applying to universities. That is fantastic! 

A good piece of advice for Senior parents: Make sure your Senior is keeping up his or her grades. Seniors will have to submit a final transcript, and universities are checking to make sure GPA's are meeting minimum requirements. Happy Holidays to you and your families!

-The Counseling Department

Did You Know...

• Homework Club is open after school Mondays– Wednesdays in the Library.
• CAHSEE University begins in January for students who require additional preparation in math.
• Maria Luevano received the National Hispanic Recogni-tion 2011-12 Scholar Award.
• The Latino Parent Organization hosts the 2nd annual Posada coming Dec. 9th. All are welcome!
• Our Marching Band will per-form in the Burlingame Holiday Parade Friday Dec. 2nd.
• Our next IB Parent Tour is scheduled for Dec. 7th at 12pm. Don’t forget to sup-port the IB Fundraiser and purchase your Anna’s Cookies!
• Jennifer Lewis was recognized as San Bruno’s Patch Whiz Kid of the week. Con-grats!

Holiday Hoaxes

Please be aware of the following
 

1. iPad Offer Scams 

 With Apple products topping most shopping lists this holiday season, scammers are busy distributing bogus offers for free iPads. McAfee Labs found that in the spam version of the scam consumers are asked to purchase other products and provide their credit card number to get the free iPad. Of course, victims never receive the iPad or the other items, just the headache of reporting a stolen credit card number. In the social media version of the scam, users take a quiz to win a free iPad and must supply their cell phone number to receive the results. In actuality they are signed up for a cell phone scam that costs $10 a week.

2. Fake Gift Cards

Cyber-crooks use social media to promote fake gift card offers with the goal of stealing consumers’ information and money, which is then sold to marketers or used for ID theft. One recent Facebook scam offered a “free $1,000 Best Buy gift card” to the first 20,000 people who signed up for a Best Buy fan page, which was a look-a-like. To apply for the gift card they had to provide personal information and take a series of quizzes.
 

3. Charity Scams

The holidays have historically been a prime time for charity scams since it’s a traditional time for giving, and McAfee Labs predicts that this year is no exception. Common ploys include phone calls and spam e-mails asking you to donate to veterans’ charities, children's causes and relief funds for the latest catastrophe.

4. Dangerous Holiday Downloads

Holiday-themed screensavers, jingles and animations are an easy way for scammers to spread viruses and other computer threats especially when links come from an email or IM that appears to be from a friend.

Staff Recognition for 2011

Congratulations to all those who were recognized this semester. Every effort both in front and behind the scenes helps to make our school a special place. Below are the names of staff who have been recognized for 1st semester:

• Sarah Krummel, Special Ed teacher, and WASC Coordinator
• Kathy Fogle, Special Ed teacher for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Pro-gram, co-chair for special programs
• Ali Alizaga– Boiler person and former maintenance leader
• Anna Lapid– School Librarian
• Elena Haro– Attendance Clerk and manager of school marquee
• Andrew Meyers– Math teacher, Data & Assessment Coordinator, Schoolloop and Data Director Guru
• Kristen Grijalva– Instructional Aide and Interpreter for deaf and hard of hearing students, staff security for school events