Speech and Debate Glitter and Gold

This past weekend our speech and debate team tackled the competition at the University Of The Pacific Invitational and their performances were undeniably unbelievable! Our students competed against over 1000 students from across the state and we are so incredibly proud of their efforts and their outcomes. 

Please give your  CONGRATULATIONS to the following:

Aashril Shazar for 2ND PLACE VARSITY IMPROMPTU

Aashril Shazar & Dhruva Kolikineni 2ND PLACE VARSITY PARLI

Vishnu Matta 3RD PLACE VARSITY HUMOROUS INTERP

Immanuel Victor 3RD PLACE VARSITY LINCOLN DOUGLAS

Subhan Baig 3RD PLACE NOVICE LD Debate

Please be sure to congratulate them on their victories!

As was the case last time, we wanted to highlight the tinsel, but we also wanted to focus the spotlight on one of our own team members who actually lost in a semi-final competition. 

After a brutal semi-final round loss, against a close friend and fierce competitor from Enochs, hearts were hurting and words could have too ... but the choice made by Immanuel Victor showed immense integrity. Rather than sulking and lamenting, although he took a moment to mourn his loss, he chose to turn around the attitude and support his friend in the finals. We call it "prepping out a competitor." In short, he sat down to strategize with the guy who just beat him with how he could win the whole tournament. This is incredibly generous because a full-ride scholarship was attached to that win.

As it turns out, Nick, the other competitor, did, in fact, end up winning!!

However, the "wins" don't stop there.  Like an unexpected encore, Nick returned the favor to Immanuel (without him knowing) when he went to the tournament director, the coach of UOP, and suggested that his friend Immanuel be asked to join the team as well; offering to share his newly acquired financial help, as they were "both worth it!"

AMC 8 Math Competition

What:  AMC 8 Math Competition Fundraiser
Who:  Any LUSD student 6th-8th grade
When:  November 12th
Time:  4:00 P.M. - 5:15 P.M.
ORDERING DEADLINE:  NOVEMBER 3rd

MHHS Math club is running this year's AMC 8 math competition for all 6th-8th-grade students.  Space is limited, so sign up today at https://tinyurl.com/MHHSAMC8

The cost for the test is $20 and is non-refundable.  You must purchase by November 3rd to participate.

Jannat Ashfaq - Senior - Cal-HOSA State Officer - Region 1 Vice President

A report by Jannat Ashfaq:

In September, I went to Washington DC for the HOSA Future Health Professionals Washington Leadership Academy.  I met the HOSA Executive Council and had the opportunity to network with state officers from all over the nation.  The theme of the Academy was "Being a Positive Influence". Through a variety of activities, a little bit of madness and a lot of bonding, we learned the importance of trust, credibility, diversity, and gratitude. The lessons that stand out include - you must establish trust between you and those you want to lead and there needs to be a sense of thankfulness and gratitude between you and the other HOSA members.

We toured various industry sites, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH). There I participated in a virtual reality set for a clinical trial. Another very educational experience was visiting Capitol Hill. I met with Congressman McNerney from our district.  I explained to him how HOSA has changed my life. HOSA has taught me how to truly be a servant leader, the importance of passion, the dedication it takes to be an effective leader and the self-confidence you need to have to do all of the above.  We also discussed the Perkins Act, which is the bill that funds CTE programs, including HOSA.  I asked for continued support for the Perkins Act.  At the end of the meetings, I was offered an internship at his Stockton office to help promote awareness of the Perkins Act. This experience has definitely taught me the importance of our voice in what happens with our nation.

The final part of the Academy was a tour of Washington DC at night. Being able to see the history of this nation was interesting and eye-opening.  Overall the trip was amazing and truly taught me skills that can improve my leadership skills and the way I overall present myself.

Keep Calm and Get the Flu Shot

The Influenza (flu) season is upon us, which is typically October through March.  The flu is an easily spread respiratory tract infection caused by a virus.  An average of 5% to 20% of people in the U.S. get the flu each year, with more than 900,000 hospitalized last years from the illness.
We are asking for your help to keep everyone safe this flu season by getting vaccinated. There are those that can fight off the infection, however, those same individuals can still spread the virus to individuals that can't. This puts anyone you interact with at risk, including the groups that are at higher risk of serious illness and death from flu complications:

• Older Adults
• Pregnant Women
• Young Children
• Individuals with weakened immune systems and other chronic medical conditions

Some simple steps to help stop the spread of germs year round:

• Always practice good hand hygiene
• Stay home when you are sick. 
• Wipe down counter tops, desks, and areas that are frequently used.
• Always sneeze and cough into your elbow.
• Avoid sharing items like food, beverages, utensils, towels, hair brushes, and lip balm.

Additional tips to help keep you, your family and our community healthy this flu season can be found by visiting https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/index.html.

Attendance Matters!

Attending school has a huge impact on student success. This year our goal is to have every student miss no more than 9 days of school. In order to meet this goal, we need your help.

Below are some tips to help promote attendance for your student:

• Discuss the importance of going to school every day; get to school on time.
• Make sure your student keeps a regular bedtime and establishes a morning routine so they are rested and alert when they get to school.
• Make sure clothes are ready and backpacks are packed the night before.
• Avoid scheduling vacations or doctor’s appointments when school is in session.
• Check with our school nurse or office staff if you are not sure about when to keep your child at home due to illness.
• Talk to teachers and counselors for advice if your student feels anxious about going to school.
• Develop back-up plans for getting students to/from school in the event that something comes up. Call on a family member, neighbor, or another parent to help with transportation.

Please let us know how we can best support you and your student to arrive at school on time every day. 

Board Sub-Committee on Facilities

Lammersville Unified School District's Board sub-committee on Facilities consists of Board Members, Community Members, and L.U.S.D. staff.  The Facilities Committee meets four times per school year to discuss various Facilities Committee related issues such as Facility Usage, Facility Finance Reports, Denied Applications, Reimbursements to Organizations, Proposed Facility Improvements, Facility Use Handbook Revisions, and Public Concerns.  There are three remaining meetings for the 2019-20 school year:  12/19/19, 2/5/20 and 5/14/20.  These meetings are held at the district office and begin at 6:30 p.m.  Agendas and Videos of previous Facilities Committee meetings can be viewed on our district website under Governing Board, Board Committees, Facilities Committee.

If you are interested in serving as one of the community members on the Facilities Committee, please complete the online application HERE by October 31, 2019.

What:  MHHS Marching Band Competition
When:  Saturday, November 9th
Time:  6:30 P.M.

Come see some great marching bands come and compete at "The Range."  It's a great opportunity to see marching bands from all over our area!

Speech and Debate League Tournament Results

Last weekend, our MHHS Speech and Debate team hosted the league's 2nd tournament of the year at MHHS.  Our Mustang Speech and Debate team DECIMATED the competition.  Please join us in congratulating our team for bringing home 41 awards during last weekend's competition.  Listed below are our competitors who took home 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place awards during the competition.  Please join us in congratulating: 

Novice Original Oratory
1st Komal Vij
2nd Trisha Manchala

Varsity Original Oratory
1st Astrid Mann

Novice Original Advocacy
1st Rithanya Sivasubrahmanian

Varsity Original Advocacy
1st (tie) Chinmayi Mutyala
1st (tie) Zainab Butt
3rd Jannat Ashfaq

Varsity Program Oral Interpretation
3rd Hania Adnan

Varsity National Extemporaneous
1st Sahityasree Subramanian

Varsity Impromptu
2nd Aashril Shazar
3rd (tie) Dhruva Kolikineni
3rd (tie) Immanuel Victor

Varsity Lincoln Douglass
Immanuel Victor 3-0

Varsity International Extemporaneous
2nd Anisha Yeddanapudi

Novice Humorous Interpretation
3rd Ryan Alex

Varsity Humorous Interpretation
2nd Vishnu Matta

Novice Expository
1st Sreya Matthew

Varsity Expository
2nd Ananya Domala

Varsity Oratorical Interpretation
2nd Nashita Zayn
3rd Tiya Paraseeril

Mission Hacks

On Saturday, October 5th, the MHHS Hackathon Club attended Mission Hacks in Santa Clara in which two of our teams won awards. Kaleb Paul, Aravind Parambathukudy, Gerald Kyro Tungol, and Advithi Kethidi won second place overall for their app Helpan. Helpan is a prototype concept for a Community Service app that awards points to the user each time they do something positive for the community. The user could then be entered into raffles for prizes or other awards. Adithya Gundlapalli, Mahit Namburu, Kirthan Murthy, Abdurrahman Raza won Best Math Hack for their Math Essentials app. The app calculates the derivative of Polynomials and Trigonometric functions, Converts binary to decimal and vice versa, and more.   Congrats to our winning teams for their amazing creations. All of the teams in our club did a great job at our first Hackathon of the school year. Well done MHHS Hackathon Club!

Breaking Down the Walls

The MHHS Counseling Department is excited to announce that we will be having a full-day activity this week on Wednesday and Thursday (10/16/19 - 10/17/19).  All sophomore students will attend.  These activity days are focused on helping build a positive school culture by Breaking Down The Walls!  We have run this program for the last two years and we have seen so many benefits that we have decided to build it in as a full grade level offering. This will ensure that all our students moving forward have a chance to experience it!

Please read more about this program https://tinyurl.com/BDTWInfo2019

Sophomores are assigned to one of the day-long activity (or workshop) dates by last name. See the chart below for assigned dates. 

Student Last Name	Assigned Program Date
A-L	Wednesday, 10/16/19
M-Z	Thursday, 10/17/19

There are a few important notes for all students: 

1. The day starts at 8:00AM in the Large Gym. Please don’t be late! This applies to every 10th grader- whether you are in our face-to-face classes, online classes, or flex in first period. 
2. You don’t need anything! You don’t need a backpack. You don’t need your Chromebook, you just need yourself and maybe a water bottle! 
3. Wear comfortable clothes. This day is fun and active. 
4. Lunch is catered by Subway for all participants. If you do not want the provided lunch, please bring your own lunch. Participants will not be joining the regular lunch period. 
5. Attendance will be taken.

Anti-Bullying

At Lammersville Unified School District we take every report of bullying seriously.  If your child or a friend has or is experiencing bullying, they can submit a report to the district and it will remain completely anonymous.  The Anti-Bullying Anonymous Report can be found on each school’s website under “Students” “Anti-Bullying”. 

What is bullying? 
“Bullying” means any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or by means of an electronic act, and including one or more acts committed by a pupil or group of pupils as defined in Section 48900.2, 48900.3, or 48900.4, directed toward one or more pupils that has or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following: placing an individual in fear of harm to themselves or their property, causing detrimental physical or mental effect, causing substantial interference to his/her academic performance, causing substantial interference with his/her ability to participate in services/activities/or privileges provided by school.  Bullying can also be conducted by an electronic act.   “Electronic act” means the creation or transmission originated on or off the school site, by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to, a telephone, wireless telephone, or other wireless communication device, computer, or pager, or a communication, including, but not limited to, any of the following:  email, text, sound, video, image, social media, posting to or creating a burn page, impersonation, or creating a false profile. Students that are being bullied have a hard time defending him/herself.

How much of a problem is bullying? 
Unfortunately, bullying is very common from elementary school all the way through high school. In recent years, a series of bullying-related suicides in the US and across the globe have drawn attention to the connection between bullying and suicide. Studies show that Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims. The statistics of bullying is extremely frightening, nearly 30 percent of students are either bullies or victims of bullying, and 160,000 kids stay home from school every day because of fear of bullying. 

What can you do?  
Be an UPSTANDER, stand up for what is right and do your best to help support and protect someone who is being hurt.  Encourage your children to report any bullying activity to a teacher or adult.  Partner with the school administrative team to help put an end to bullying.  Talk to your children about appropriate behavior and kindness.  Help kids understand bullying and how to stand up to it safely.  Keep lines of communication open with your children, check in often, listen to them, know their friends, ask about school, and understand their concerns.

Anonymous Reporting Link 

Cellular Tower Information Night

You are invited to attend the Cellular Tower Information Night Wednesday, October 23, 2019, at 7:00 P.M.  Join AT&T Representatives to discuss their request to place a cellular tower on the light posts located at the Mountain House High School Stadium.  There will be a presentation and time for questions and answers. 

We ask that individuals interested please RSVP to the event by clicking on the link HERE. 

Click HERE for a list of Frequently Asked Questions about cellular towers. 

If you are unable to attend and have questions, please direct your questions to Harjeet Gidha at hgidha@completewireless.net.

2019 State Testing Results

Lammersville Unified School District and Moutain House High School State testing results from the end-of-year tests have been released.  Mountain House High school and Lammersville Unified School District continue to be the highest scoring in our county, and we are surpassing or close to the scores of our neighbors in the Tri-Valley Area.  Visit the state website to dig into the data further HERE and take a look at the district slide deck for the upcoming board presentation next week here:

Spring Play: Game of Tiaras

What:  Spring Play--Game of Tiaras
When:  November 15th-17th
Time:  15h-16th--7:00 P.M., 17th--2:00 P.M.
Where:  MHHS Theater
Cost:  $5.00-$7.00

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

The Fall Play Season is here again.  Mountain House High School proudly presents Game of Tiaras.  This comedy play is Disney Princesses meet the Game of Thrones in this hilarious spoof written by Don Zolidis.  Come and join us in the most emotionally crushing tragedy starring all of your favorite characters.  Come witness the twists and turns as they struggle for power over the magical kingdom of England and the Aluminium Throne. 

Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences

Sign up for your conference time slot here:  https://tinyurl.com/MHHSConf2019

Monday, October 14th is the date for this year’s Parent-Teacher-Student conferences.  This will be an opportunity for parents and students to come to the school and sit down for brief conferences with your child’s teachers.  We recommend that if your student is struggling with their grade in any of their classes that you plan on attending this conference. 

We would like to take this opportunity to provide information to you regarding the format of our Parent-Teacher-Student conferences.  The format for these conferences is different than what parents may be familiar with at the elementary school level.  Conferences begin at 1:00pm on Monday the 14th in the Large Gym.  We require that parents sign up for ONE (1) time-slot to come to conferences.  We encourage you to bring your student with you so that when you conference with the teachers, all individuals involved in the success of the student are present.  THERE WILL BE NO CONFERENCES ON TUESDAY THE 15th.  Tuesday is an early release day where all students and teachers go home early due to the conferences on Monday night.

When you arrive at conferences at your predetermined time, conferences will be on a first-come, first-served basis.  Teachers will be sitting at individual tables around the Large Gym.  Parents and students will line up behind the teachers they want to conference with.  Conferences in this format are brief 3-5 minute conversations with your child’s teacher in regards to their progress in the class.  Your child’s report card will have been mailed home and available on Aeries Parent Portal previous to parent-teacher-student conferences, so you may want to focus on the courses where your child struggles the most.  Some things you may want to address in these brief conferences include the following:

Assignments/Missing assignments
Assessments/Tests
Student in-class participation/behavior
Strengths
Areas for improvement

If your brief conference is not enough time to address all of the concerns you may have with your child’s teacher, you may need to schedule a longer conference with your child’s teacher in order to discuss strategies and solutions for your students.  Our aim is to answer as many questions about your child’s progress as possible during the parent-teacher-student conference. 

Administrators and Counselors will also be available during Parent-Teacher-Student conferences to discuss your child’s progress and answer any questions you may have about your student’s education here at Mountain House High School.  To sign up for your conference time please visit our sign-up link at  https://tinyurl.com/MHHSConf2019

Community Coding Workshop

What:  Community Coding Workshop
When:  Friday October 11th and November 15th
Times:  4:00 P.M to 6:00 P.M.
Where:  MHHS Room E108
Who:  Any Middle or High School Student
How:  SIGN UP BY CLICKING HERE

The Mountain House High School Hackathon Coding Club hosted their very first Community Coding Workshop on Friday, September 20th, 2019. This workshop was intended for Lammersville Middle School and High School beginner coders interested in building on their skills. Our team of MHHS club members used tools such as Scratch, MIT App Inventor, and Python Turtle to teach students the basics of computer science and programming.

This workshop was the first of four workshops planned for this year. Our next two workshops, which will be held on October 11th, and November 15th, will go over a more advanced curriculum that will be added on to the previous knowledge they gained. We hope you can come to our next workshop to expand your computer science skills. If you or your child would like to attend, please sign up using this FORM.

Selective Service Registration

Did you know that it is federal law for all men to register with the U.S. Selective Service?  Did you know that men who do not register become ineligible for federally funded college loans, grants and training, and certification programs?  It can also prevent them from all federal employment and some state and local government jobs.

So what should you do?  All male students should register for the Selective service.  Students can register at the age of 17 years and 3 months old in anticipation of their 18th birthday.  The registration takes 45 seconds at SSS.gov.  More information is available on the U.S. Selective Service website HERE.

Community Service Opportunity--Questa Fall Carnival

What:  Community Service Opportunity
Where:  Questa Fall Carnival
When:  October 19, 2019
Time:  4:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M.
Contact:  questapresident@gmail.com

Questa Elementary School is in the need of student volunteers to come out and provide community service at their Fall Carnival. Please contact the Questa School Foundation President at questapresident@gmail.com to sign up.