MILLIKAN HIGH SCHOOL

2800 Snowden Avenue, Long Beach, California (562) 425-7441

April 21, 2005

Dear Millikan Community,

As usual, life at Robert A. Millikan High School is a ball of activity. There have been many notable events and awards in the past few weeks and I would like to share a few of them with you.

First, I need to inform you that STAR/CAT 6 Testing starts on Tuesday, April 26^th at 7:45 am. The testing will last until Friday April 29^th. I will include an attachment that has the exact testing schedule for the week. These standardized achievement tests will be given to all 9^th, 10^th and 11^th graders. The twelfth graders no longer need to take this test and will have late starts on the testing days. I encourage you to have your students get plenty of rest, attend each day of the testing, eat a good breakfast and come to school with a can-do attitude. Millikan High School has experienced a great deal of success over the last few years and achievement with this test has been an integral part of that success!

Last night Ms. Brinkman and I had the good fortune to attend the Long Beach Education Foundation’s “2005 Most Inspirational Student Awards and a Fairy Tale Evening.” The recipient of this award from Millikan was Jazzmin Mason-Berry. She is wonderful young woman who has overcome obstacles in her life and managed to carry a 3. 70 GPA in QUEST. Jazzmin plans on attending UCLA in the fall.

During the presentation of the awards, we discovered that there was actually a second Millikan recipient. Twelfth grader, Natalie Valdes, was nominated by the Regional Opportunity Program (ROP). Natalie takes Careers Working With Children classes at Emerson Parkside Academy and plans on becoming an elementary teacher.

The Millikan Concert Choir provided the entertainment during the evening and they did a superb job of presenting the music from the movie Shrek. The song “Hallelujah” was so well done that it was a showstopper. Our PEACE Academy students served as ushers during the performance for Community Service Learning credit. Mr. Dublin, Mr. Twal and Mr. Downing offered their time and organizational skills so that the evening went off without a hitch.

During the “Top of the World” fund-raiser at the Carpenter Center the Third Annual Arts in Education Hero of the Year Awards were presented. This award recognizes dedication of those who work to keep arts education in the lives of Long Beach children. The recipient of this year’s award was Millikan’s very own dance instructor, Gwen Gibson.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has selected English Teacher, Steve Benson, as their Outstanding Educator of 2005. Mr. Benson is going to be awarded the “Wind Beneath My Wings Award” by the Long Beach East Stake Public Affairs Council that represents nine wards of the Church. Graduating seniors from local high schools who wish to acknowledge the contributions of school employees who have been positive influences in their lives make the nominations.

This evening from 6:00 – 8:00, QUEST seniors will display their Senior Projects in the quad, library and cafeteria. The Senior Project is the culminating activity of a year long class that is required of every graduating student in QUEST. The projects represent the interest of the students and are quite amazing. I have seen everything from a student who learned all aspects about the shaping of a surfboard to another who organized a “Locks of Love” hair donation for children who have been victims of cancer. This year my wife and I joined nine Millikan staff members for a Night of Persian Cuisine. This dinner was the culminating event of Sheida Hosseinzadeh in which she studied Persian culture and learned how to prepare traditional Persian Cuisine. I might add that the food was delicious and my hat is off to Sheida!

Ms. Brinkman and I were also invited to the Basketball banquet for this year’s Varsity Basketball Team. The event was held at the McKenna's on the Bay and it was our pleasure to attend this event. The team’s rallying cry is “FAMILY,” and I believe that these young men and their coaches have truly formed a supportive family unit.

Finally, the Class of 2005 college acceptances have started to pour in. We are very fortunate to have our graduates being accepted in some of the most prestigious colleges and universities throughout the nation. Eight of our graduating senior girls have just left campus for a breakfast recognition. They are all recipients of the National Charity League scholarship. The girls are Luz Bossano – Mount St. Mary’s, Becky Garduno – UCI, Lilian Gonzalez – Mills College, Utilia Guzman – Cal State Dominguez Hills, Ceanne Jarvis – San Diego State, Delia Martinez – Cal State Long Beach, Chann Phann – Cal State Long Beach, and finally Rosa Rodezno-Amaya – U C Irvine. Best wishes to all these young ladies, you make us proud.

Yours truly,

Jeff

People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to. - George Allen