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http://www.lbusd.k12.ca.us/millikan/
October 16, 2005
Hello Millikan Family and
Friends,
I would like to invite you all to the 50th Anniversary Homecoming game that pits our Millikan RAMS Varsity Football Team against the Tarbabes of Compton High School. This Homecoming extravaganza will take place in our Stadium on Friday, October 21st at 7:00 P.M. The game promises to be a battle, but our boys will make us proud.
The halftime show will include the naming of the Homecoming Queen, recognition of the 2005 Championship Girls’ Softball Team and a fireworks show to knock your socks off. For all of you ex-RAMS, please come back home and help us celebrate Homecoming.
The five Homecoming Beauty Pageant finalists were selected on Thursday, October 13th. The contestants in no particular order are as follows: Tatiana Gonzalez (nominated by ASB Leadership), Katherine Arban (nominated by Kidette Club), Shannon Rosales, (nominated by PEACE Academy 07), Becky Fisher (nominated by Red Cross Club) and Maricia Mejorado (nominated by COMPASS). Good luck to all the young ladies.
I was very proud to read about the brave actions of two of our Millikan High 12th graders, Justin Hartnell and Christopher Anderson. They were near the corner of Los Coyotes Diagonal and Palo Verde Avenue on June 25, 2005 at 11:00 P.M. when they witnessed a drunk driver have a head on collision with a Long Beach Police Department squad car. The two students along with two adults rescued Officers Binh Duong and Michael Barth from their patrol car. Our two seniors used buckets of water to beat back the flames while the adults cut the officers seat belts and extricated them from the burning vehicle. All four of the rescuers received commendations and certificates of valor from State Attorney General, Bill Lockyer. Thank you boys. You are truly heroes!
As many of you already know, one of our Counselors passed away at the beginning of this school year. A tree has been planted on our campus in the 400/300 quad to honor Ms. Paula Kearney. A plaque and dedication will follow. A Chinese Flame Tree was donated by the City, Neighborhood Services Bureau, and Community Development Department. A Paula Kearney Memorial Scholarship has been founded for Millikan High School students. Donations of cash or check can be made out to Millikan High School in the memo space, please write “Paula Memorial Scholarship.” For further information please contact Ms. Suzanne English, Millikan Banker, at (562) 425-7441 *4124.
I want to congratulate Sgt. Christopher Sarmiento who will be awarded his Bachelor of Science in Information Technology from the University of Phoenix on Saturday, November 5th. Sgt Sarmiento has been instructing JROTC Cadets on our campus since 1995. Sgt Sarmiento left our campus for a couple of years so that he could move closer to home, but luckily Millikan was able to lure him back. Teaching is Sgt. Sarmiento’s second career. He is retired from the United States Army where he had a distinguished career serving our country.
The California High School Exit Exam is a test that has been on the minds of every single educator in the State since the law was first passed in 1999. We were notified that the class of 2006 graduates must pass this exam before they are able to attain a diploma. Millikan High School still has some Seniors (approximately 13%) who have not passed both the English Language Arts portion and/or Mathematics portion of the CAHSEE. We have instituted many forms of intervention for these students and they will have their next chance to take the test on November 1st and 2nd. I have included a recent article regarding CAHSEE testing from the Long Beach Press Telegram. http://www2.presstelegram.com/news/ci_3120585. Millikan High School wants all our Seniors to graduate, so please encourage your students to do their best on all standardized testing. This approach is good for the students and good for Millikan High.
On October 12, 2005 every 10th grader was taken to one of our large testing locations and given a copy of the PSAT. This test usually has a $15 dollar price tag, but the district has offered it for free. In the past based on these tests, many more Millikan students have been offered Advanced Placement, courses(AP). http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/psat/about.html .
On Saturday, October 15th from 7:30 A.M. to Noon many 11th graders came to school and retook the PSAT for a second time. These Juniors are the ones preparing themselves for some of the most prestigious 4 year universities in the Nation. I want to wish all our recent test takers the very best in educational pursuits!
I would like to ask for your assistance with a matter of traffic and safety. Millikan is a large high school with over 4000 students. Every morning there is a traffic jam on Snowden Avenue. The residents to the west of the school have only Snowden as an access route to their homes. With buses and hundreds of cars dropping off students, it is very difficult to navigate Snowden from 7:30 A.M. to 8:00A.M. I am asking parents to drop off their students on Palo Verde. If the students are dropped off at the curb they should be able to make it to class on time without putting themselves in danger. The students and their drivers will have to leave their homes earlier to allow for a few minutes more of walking, but this minor inconvenience will help with the overcrowding of Snowden. Thank you in advance.
On August 31st the Professional Leaning Community (PLC) of Robert Millikan High School met at the Long Beach Museum of Art. Our PLC consists of the various department heads, the small learning community leaders, administrators, counselors and representatives of the teachers union. We met this summer to discuss the next steps for our school and where we want to see Robert A. Millikan High School in the future.
We are all very proud of this school and have come up with some next steps. I will share some of the areas of concern that we want to see improved during this school year. We want to see students stay out of (On Campus Supervision) OCS. The OCS was designed to keep students from disrupting classes by entering late. We want your support to make sure that your student arrives to class on time. There is an 8 minute passing period between every class. This passing period should give students plenty of time to get to class. Unfortunately, the major period for overuse of OCS is the first period of the school day. Student must get to class on time in the morning, and I am hoping that my request for the change in drop off areas will help with this problem.
The PLC wants to have everyone work on improving attendance among our students. We want to change the pattern of some students who miss a large amount of class time. Please be diligent when it comes to checking on your child’s attendance. Some students have taken advantage of the freedom that a large high school provides when it comes to attendance. The students in the classes will learn and we all want the students to be present daily! We promise to never give up on our students!
Happy Golden Anniversary,
Jeff
“The highest result of education is tolerance.” - Helen Keller (American Author and Educator who was blind and deaf. 1880 -1968)