Painting Fire Hydrants--Community Service Opportunity

Did you know that all students at MHHS have to complete 40 hours of community service before they graduate high school?!  Well, if you haven't got started yet, there is a great opportunity for community service coming up.  The city of Tracy got behind on their painting of their fire hydrants, and needs your help.  On October 14, 2017 from 8am to 12pm, you have the opportunity to participate in a hydrant painting party.  To sign up follow the link to our service posting website at justserve.org.  Volunteers from Mountain House will be assigned to paint hydrants in the area around Art Freiler School in Tracy.  It's not just students, parents and younger siblings are encouraged to participate too.  This is a perfect opportunity for families to work together to provide service to our local community.  CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!

Student Poetry Contest

The following is a poetry contest available to students with cash prizes for the winners.  Enter if you are interested!

Creative Writing Contest

See below for a creative writing contest that you can participate in!

Biomedical Science Students Visit Delta College

On September 12, 2017 the Principles of Biomedical Science class took advantage of an opportunity to visit the Delta College Campus in Stockton.  Students experienced a guided tour with hands on activities within Health Science (Nursing, Psychiatric Technician and Speech Pathology) and the Electron Microscopy labs.  After these exciting activities they enjoyed a lunch in the school cafeteria.  Marisol Hernandez, Delta College Outreach and Marketing Specialist, then presented information about post high school education and Delta College opportunities including the Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG)  programs with CSU-Sacramento, UC Davis, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Santa Cruz.  The day was rounded out with  a campus tour where students were able to see the other academic areas and extracurricular activities offered by Delta College.   It was an amazing day organized by MHHS teacher, Kris Olson in conjunction with  Delta College Outreach Specialist, Marisol Hernandez.  One student reflection on the day is included below:

“I saw several interesting things during the field trip in Delta College. One of the interesting things I saw in Delta College was a mannequin that doctors use for simulations. The interesting thing about this mannequin is that it can breathe, talk, have a pulse, and actually be treated. This mannequin makes it easy for doctors, future doctors, or other occupants in the medical field to perform simulations of various types of treatments. This also gave me an idea of how many doctors, future doctors, and occupants in the medical field prepare themselves for treatments and operations.

Another interesting thing I saw in Delta was videos of actual vocal chords in motion. I got to see different types of vocal chords such as regular vocal chords, vocal chords with cancer, and vocal chords with nodes. The class and I discussed the differences in how the person in each video sounds and how the vocal chords looked.

In addition to these two things, I also learned how to wash my hands. First, I put this liquid called, "Glo Germ", which basically shows you how germs spread. Afterwards, I lathered and rinsed the "Glo Germ" off my hands. Next, I saw how clean my hands were with a black light which shows the area your hand has germs in and the results were that my hands needed to be a bit more cleaner. Finally, I went back to the sink to wash my hands. These were some of the interesting things I saw in Delta College.” (MHHS student)

National Spirit of Community Award Applications

Are you a student who is looking to make a big difference in the world and in your community through volunteerism?  If you are, we encourage you to apply for the 2018 Spirit of Community Awards.  Your application makes you eligible to be recognized here in Mountain House as a local Honoree, and qualifies you to be entered into the State and National Recognition of this prestigious award.  During the National recognition event in Washington D.C., America's top 10 youth volunteers of  the year will be named by a selection committee, and will receive a $5000 scholarship, and $5000 to give to a non-profit organization of their choice.

If you have participated in community service activities over the past year, and would like to fill out an application visit nassp.org/spirit and fill out the online application by the deadline on November 7, 2017.  Local Honorees will be identified by the end of November, and will be eligible to go on to the state-level honors.  State level honorees will be announced in February 2018, and will receive an all expense paid trip to Washington D.C. next spring for four days of special recognition events.
We look forward to congratulating our very first local honorees here in Mountain House very soon!

MHHS Choir Members Accepted into County Honor Choir

Mountain House High School is proud to report that we had a total of 12 students make it into the San Joaquin All County Honor Choir this year. This is twice the number that we sent last year! There were over 350 applicants for this ensemble and our students did great!  Congratulations to our students for their amazing accomplishment and for representing our school and community with pride. 
The following students were accepted into the county honor choir:

Brandon Acevedo

Brandon Le

Marcello DeGuzman Antonio

Luoie Santos

Alexander Rexelle

Jordan Bolla

Danielle Perez

Atmanah Parab

Trinity Nguyen

Meilani Fobert

Isabelle Asuncion

Alexis Romero

FREE TEST PREP for PSAT, SAT, ACT and more!

Mountain House High School now has access to some of the best PSAT, SAT, and ACT prep that there is to offer.  Through our partnership with Edgenuity, or online curriculum provider, students have access to test prep ABSOLUTELY FREE!  This test prep is developed with the test in mind, providing instruction from credentialed teachers, sample test questions from officially released test questions from previous years, and tons of tools for you to prepare to do your best on these important exams.  To sign up for the MHHS test prep courses, visit our sign-up link TODAY!  

CLICK HERE to sign up for MHHS Edgenuity Test Prep 

Educational Art Contest

Educational Art Contest

On behalf of the California Department of Education and the Consulate General of Mexico in Sacramento, we are pleased to announce the XXL Children’s Drawing Contest 2017 “Este es mi Mexico” with the subject: “The Monarch Butterfly and its life cycle in North America.”  The contest is open to children in Northern California of all nationalities between the ages of six and fourteen.

The contest motivates children to draw and learn about the monarch butterfly - its habitat, migration through three countries, life stages, and the challenges it faces on the path towards its destiny.

Participating children must draw their art based on research gathered from friends, classmates, and family members.  A jury in Mexico will select 12 winners who will receive a piece of art from a Mexican artist, a set of Mexican literature, a diploma, and a surprise gift.

The main guidelines are as follows:

• Draw on a square paper or cardboard (12x12 inches).
• Paste the registration form on the back of the drawing.  The form can be downloaded on the contest instructions Web page at:

https://consulmex2.sre.gob.mx/sacramento/images/PDFs/Convocatoria-2017-ingls.pdf

• Drawings must be mailed or handed-delivered by October 13, 2017, to:

Consulate General of Mexico

2093 Arena Boulevard

Sacramento, CA  95834

Please see the Contest Instructions Web page provided above for more details.  If you have any further questions contact the Consulate by phone at 916-329-3542, or by e-mail at:imesac@sre.gob.mx

PSAT/NMSQT Test Information

 

 *PSAT/NMSQT for 10th & 11th graders 

*Saturday 10/14

*Deadline to sign up Friday 9/22

*Sign up at the school bank or online at the webstore for $20

PSAT Registration

The PSAT/NMSQT test will be offered at Mountain House High School on Saturday, October 14th. All sophomores and juniors are eligible and highly encouraged to take this test to prepare for the SAT exam. All sophomores will have an additional opportunity to take the PSAT10 in the spring, more details will be sent out closer to spring. The PSAT is a multiple-choice assessment of verbal, mathematics, and writing skills.

The PSAT/NMSQT is an optional test that provides practice for the SAT Reasoning Test through personalized feedback of student performance with suggestions for improvement. The SAT Reasoning Test, taken later in the junior year can be used as a standardized test in college applications and may be helpful for students wanting to pursue admission to highly competitive colleges or universities. PSAT also serves as the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT). Top performing juniors nationally (approximately 1%) may be eligible for money through National Merit, National Achievement, or National Hispanic Scholarship funds.

Seats for the exam are limited and students are encouraged to sign up as soon as possible. The cost for taking the PSAT is $20 and can be paid for in person at the front desk or online at the MHHS webstore. The deadline for purchasing a place for the October sitting is Friday, September 22nd.

More information about the PSAT including sample test questions can be found here.

The College Board also has excellent resources, guides, and action plans to help parents plan for college: Big Future by the College Board

The PSAT 8/9 specifically designed for students in 8th and 9th grades will also be offered this year in the spring. More details will be coming out soon.

Mustang Community Forum: MHHS Mastery Based Grading and Educational Best Practices Guest Presenter and Facilitator: Dr. Doug Reeves

What:  Community Forum on MHHS Mastery Based Grading and Educational Best Practices

When:  September 5, 2017, 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Where:  MHHS Multi-Use Room

Who:  All MHHS parents, and any interested community members

Please Join us on September 5, 2017 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. for a parent and community forum focused on Mastery Based Grading and Educational Best Practices that continue to make MHHS stand out from the crowd in preparing our students for College and Career Readiness.

During this interactive community forum, Dr. Reeves will present and entertain questions from our parents and community.  We will consider questions during this forum such as:

• What skills are most important to learn in high school in order to succeed in college and future careers?
• How can teachers and school administrators best create an environment that promotes college readiness?
• What should we do when students are not succeeding in school?
• How do we provide opportunities for students to be admitted to the “best fit” college?
• What do college admissions officers really want?
• How can parents best support their children to make wise choices?

We will be joined by an internationally known expert in school success, Dr. Douglas Reeves.  Doug is the author of more than 30 books and 90 articles on education and leadership.  He was twice named to the Harvard University Distinguished Authors Series and received the Brock International Prize for his contributions to education.  He has worked in all fifty states and 25 countries.

Come out to our community Forum and learn more about how your high school is implementing educational best practices to prepare your students for college, careers, and beyond!

Donations for Product Design Class

The product design elective can use the following items, so if you're getting ready to get rid of those old Summer fashions and make way for Fall we can use the following:

• Old Fleece Blankets so we can practice hand sewing stitches onto fabrics.  
• Fabric by the yard - no small scraps we have plenty and we are not quilting.
• Safety pins 
• Elastic
• Any used sewing supplies
• Old buttons
• Used clothing
• Jeans and denim!! 
• Canvas - if you have any canvas tarps that are not too soiled I can take them for practice projects and recycled projects.

Please bring any donations you may have to the MHHS Main office and let the secretaries know it is for Mrs. Leyva's Product Design Class!  Thank you so much in advance for your donations.  These donations will be used to get ready for our second annual Fashion show in Spring 2018!

Pool Grand Opening and FREE Recreational Swimming

What:  MHHS Pool Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and FREE Recreation Swim.

When:  Friday, September 1, 2017 4:00 p.m. Ribbon Cutting 4:15 Free Recreational Swim

Who:  FREE to the first 500 participants willing to pick up tickets from MHHS main office starting Tuesday August 29th. (only 4 wristbands will be distributed per person)

Times:  30 minute Recreational Swim times for 100 swimmers at a time during the following times

• 4:15-4:45

• 5:00-5:30

• 5:45-6:15

• 6:30-7:00

• 7:00-7:15

• 7:15-7:45 

All swimmers MUST complete a Hold Harmless Agreement and review the Pool Rules.  Minors must have their form filled out by a parent.  CLICK HERE FOR HOLD HARMLESS AND POOL RULES.  All Swim times are first-come, first-served.  

How to Get Tickets:  Pick up your tickets from the ASB windows in the MHHS main office between 7:30 A.M. and 4:30 P.M.  Make sure to bring your Hold Harmless Agreement with you!

NOTIFICATION:  Please be aware that the MHHS Pool is a deep water pool that is 7 feet deep.  Only 1 lane is "shallow" and measures at 3.5 feet deep.  This lane quickly drops off to 7 feet.  

Parent Team Members needed for School Accreditation

Mountain House high school is going through our first full accreditation visit in the spring of this school year.  The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) visited our campus 3 years ago and granted our school candidacy status in the accreditation process.  This year, the WASC committee will return to our campus to do a full visit for our full accreditation.  This notice is going out to engage our parent community to participate in the process.  If you are interested in being a part of this team who will look at our past progress, current status, and future plans in anticipation of the committee visit please fill out the WASC team member sign-up form.

Sign up here

http://tinyurl.com/MHHSWASC

The first meeting for the WASC accreditation team will be during our School Site Council meeting on September 13, 2017 at 4pm.
Please consider participating on the WASC team to help us gain our first full accreditation!

Back To School General Session Slides

Back To School Night was on August 25, 2017 and started with a general session in the large gym at 6:30 P.M.  We understand that the traffic coming back into Mountain House prevented a large percentage of our parent population from attending Back To School Night last night.  For those of you who were unable to make it to our general session, the slides for the general session are here in this post.  If you have specific questions for your child's teachers, please do not hesitate to contact them.

Back To School Night

Date: Thursday August 24th 

Time:  6:30 P.M.

Place:  Large Gym and Classrooms 

Back To School Night will start off by meeting in the gym, where you will get a chance to meet the school principal Mr. Ben Fobert and Vice Principals Joni Hellstrom and Athena Duran.  They will walk you through how to access Canvas, the resource used to view your student’s grades, assignments and much more. You will also get an overview of student centered blended learning and mastery based learning. 

The rest of the evening you will have the opportunity to attend each of your student’s classrooms, meet the teachers, and learn about the goals and expectations for each class. Back to school night is a great way to stay connected with your student’s education.   Students will be sending you a text or email on Thursday morning during their advisory period with their class schedule and room numbers so that you can be sure to get to all of the right classes.  We look forward to seeing you on Thursday Night starting at 6:30 P.M. in the gym.