April 2017

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THE GEAR MONTHLY PARENT NEWSLETTER ISSUE 65 APRIL 2017

Bosco Tech’s Class of 2018 (See 2017 Junior Class Retreat on page 4)

BISHOP O’CONNELL VISITS TECH CAMPUS —MEETS FACULTY & STUDENTS Students and faculty of Bosco Tech welcomed a special guest to campus on March 8. The Most Reverend David G. O’Connell, bishop of the San Gabriel Pastoral Region, spent the morning touring the school and meeting with students and faculty.

“We’re so glad Bishop O’Connell was able to see first hand the positive strides that are taking place at the Tech,” said President Xavier Jimenez. “He had heard great things about our school and our students’ accomplishments and, after visiting, I think he was even more impressed by what he witnessed and by the young people he met.”

This just in: Bishop O’Connell has just accepted an invitation to serve on Bosco Tech’s Board of Trustees. We welcome him to the Tech family!

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Saturday, April 1 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Register at Yurak.Eventbrite.com

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ARCHDIOCESE CHRISTIAN SERVICE AWARD WINNERS On March 14, two members of the Bosco Tech community were awarded the Christian Service Medal by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Senior Manuel Alvarez (MSET) and long-time volunteer, instructor and coach Mr. Brad Stolz were recognized for their exemplary levels of service to the school and to their community.

Manuel has devoted a great deal of time to helping others. He has served as Youth Ministry Core Team co-president, character assembly co-chair, Kairos team leader, and Big Brother program co-chair while serving and participating in the Lettermen Society, the National Honor Society, the National Hispanic Honor Society, the Boy Scouts, the Ambassador leadership team, and his church choir.

Mr. Stolz continues to inspire not just Bosco Tech’s track and field and cross country teams but all students at the school. In addition to coaching, Mr. Stolz volunteers with the campus’ youth ministry program, coordinating student retreats and community service projects for sports teams and campus organizations.

A Salesian Cooperator, Mr. Stolz has been described as “an active and essential youth minister, offering his assistance in everything ministry related. He is a testament to what Bosco Tech truly is!”

After coming to the campus in 1969, Mr. Stolz taught English and Spanish, serving as the chairman of the Foreign Language department. For twelve years, he was also an academic counselor.

Having visited 130 countries, he has organized and chaperoned many student trips to exotic locales that young people would not normally have the opportunity to visit like Machu Picchu, Mt. Sinai, King Tut’s tomb and Easter Island.

Top: Award recipients Mr. Brad Stolz and Manuel Alvarez. Bottom: Student award “The day before Mr. Stolz received his recipients from the Salesian schools, St. John Bosco, Bishop Mora Salesian and award, he came into my office asking if Bosco Tech. Congratulations to these young men who were honored! maybe we had made a mistake in nominating him,” said Coordinator of Youth Ministry Rudy Herrera. “He said he felt that he hadn't done anything to deserve such recognition. I couldn't help but think to myself, ‘We chose the right person.’ And Manny was chosen by a vote of the faculty and staff. Knowing his personal story, he overcame tremendous adversity which could have easily turned him inwards and closed him off. But instead, it motivated him to help others. It was great to see them be recognized yesterday. Their approach to service is an example to each of us.”

The 2017 Archdiocese of Los Angeles Christian Service Award was presented at a special Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. The students honored represented each of the 51 Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese, while Bosco Tech was one of only ten schools with an adult honoree as well.

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2017 JUNIOR RETREAT 2017 —BY RICHARD MEZA, JUNIOR & YOUTH MINISTRY CORE TEAM MEMBER

On March 10, the junior class of almost 100 students attended their yearly retreat. This retreat started in the Bosco Tech chapel with a welcome and introduction by Mr. Herrera, our head of Youth Ministry. It then moved to St. Joseph’s Retreat Center, where three juniors (Fabrizio Castaneda, Andrew Duenas, and Richard Meza), two sophomores (Jose Ulloa and Danny Rojas), and one senior (Michael Rodriguez) served as retreat leaders/facilitators.

The retreat began with a competitive activity on the football field where the juniors were separated into four groups and faced off. After the winners were announced and they had a well -deserved water break, the class moved into the St. Joseph’s chapel.

The overarching theme of this retreat was responsibility (response-ability) and was separated into three parts.

The first workshop dealt with a student’s individual responsibility to God and the choices and decisions that come with that responsibility. This workshop was led by Mr. Gonzales, and he put the class through active and entertaining games that were reflected on throughout the retreat.

The second workshop, “Responsibility to Family,” was led by Coach Jones, and he gave a meaningful talk about a student’s new role in their individual family and the importance of that role as they enter their senior year. The third and last workshop, “Responsibility to Friends and Self,” was given by Mr. Chua. He gave a casual and fun talk that also conveyed the important message on that aspect of responsibility.

A large lunch was served in Tech Hall followed by a break where the juniors could let out some energy. After this the group attended a unique Mass led by Fr. Andrew. The Mass started in one of the retreat center halls and then moved in a procession outside where the petitions were prayed. The procession stopped at a small fire pit in front of the St. Joseph’s chapel where the juniors burned their petitions and prayers, written earlier in the Mass, offering them to God. The Mass then continued and ended in chapel.

After Mass, the juniors reflected openly about the retreat and said anything they felt. After many meaningful and sincere words were shared with each other, including a few jokes here and there, the retreat ended. The juniors left with a new understanding of their new responsibilities as junior ring and pin bearers, hopefully strengthened by a stronger brotherhood.

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INTERNATIONAL STUDENT MIXER —BY SECRET JOE LI AND PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTOR XIAO LIN YANG

The International Mixer was held for the Bosco Tech International Club to give us an opportunity to meet and converse with other international clubs from other schools. The purpose of the event was to help club members realize that besides good grades, it is also important to have proficient socializing skills.

This year’s mixer was held on February 23. It was a pleasure to invite the international girls from San Gabriel Mission High School to attend through the efforts of the board members from both schools; the mixer was pleasing and overall successful. The dinner consisted of a burger with toppings of the persons’ choice, a drink, and chips, thanks to Mrs. Magda Gonzalez. Our chaperones were Mrs. Carolina Schmeisser, Mrs. and Dr. Diaz, and, from SGMHS, Miss Sarah Zhou. On the agenda were games like “Speed Friend Zone,” which helped each student to pair up with one another and talk about interesting topics among themselves. At first our students were reserved, and then the boys did not want to get up and move to the next person because they were having so much fun talking with one another. It was a great experience!

After the main event, there was a guest speaker from MSET. As an instructor new to Bosco Tech, Mr. Gaurav Nagalia gave an inspiring speech about his own experience as an international student. It was interesting, and we were happy to hear someone who understood what we are experiencing as International students. Mr. Nagalia is cool!

Next, we moved into the Student Activities Center to play a few games, and have dessert: popcorn and chocolate chip cookies. This gave students from both schools another opportunity to talk to each other, learn from others, and to express themselves in a positive way. The board members thanked all who helped out and we ended with a prayer from senior Leslie Giovanny.

We had fun and it seemed like the girls enjoyed themselves too, because they asked if we could host another mixer. After months of planning, every board member had a job to do, and almost every International Club member participated in the organization that day. We all had a lot of fun together. We hope to plan for another get together real soon!

SPECIAL THANKS TO BOSCO TECH’S GENEROUS SPONSORS www.lamsusagroup.com http://printefex.com/ www.thejoint.com

www.skyerentals.com

www.princetonreview.com

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GET YOUR GALA TICKETS TODAY —AND BID NOW ON FABULOUS AUCTION ITEMS Visit boscotechgala2017.auction-bid.org for tickets and auction info.

EDUCATORS FROM BEIJING VISIT CAMPUS DELEGATION TOURS AND MEETS STUDENTS

In the U.S. for a recent educational conference, a delegation of teachers from Beijing, China, visited the Tech campus in mid March. The special guests were interested in seeing a hands-on STEM school and, because of our reputation as a leader in the field, Bosco Tech was of great interest to them. Student Ambassadors and members of the International Program provided tours and explained the unique curriculum to the impressed guests.

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Upcoming Class of 2017 Events

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(Please note date change.)

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Upcoming Class of 2017 Events (cont’d.)

WOODBURY UNIVERSITY OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES Woodbury University’s School of Media, Culture and Design has extended a gracious invitation to Bosco Tech students of all grade levels to participate in Creative Workshops on Saturday, April 1. The event runs from 9 to 11 a.m. and is free of charge. For more information or to register, visit woodbury.edu/event/2017-mcdcreative-workshops/. Offered are the following workshops: Animation: Stop Motion Communications: Podcasting 1010 Fashion Design: Fashion Illustration 101 Filmmaking: Lights, Camera, Action!

Game Art & Design: 3D Character Design Graphic Design: Movie Poster Design Media Technology: Making Robots

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SPORTS UPDATES TRACK & FIELD STARTS WITH 17 MEDALS & HUGE WIN AGAINST CANTWELL —BY ASSISTANT TRACK & FIELD COACH BRAD STOLZ

Bosco Tech started its 2017 season on March 4 at the Bishop Amat Relays, conducted at Citrus College in Glendora. Although the spotlight of this event was on a heavy assortment of relay races, many of the usual track and field events also took place at this invitational.

Fourteen individuals won medals in relays, sprints, hurdles, and shot put. Of those 14, freshman Ryan Suarez, sophomore Alvaro Chavez, and junior Sidney Herrera each won two medals for a combined total of 17 medals. This meet was a good omen of even better things to come.

The next meet was the Rosemead Invitational on March 11. At this meet, a number of athletes broke their personal records (PR): the 4x4 relay team of jun- Top: relay race freshmen Joseph Reynoso, Ryan Suarez, Casey Reynolds, and sophomore Alvaro Chavez. Bottom: sophomore iors Rey Castellanos and Roman Kirkbride and jun- Gabriel Gonzalez and freshman Daniel Harrell earned medals in shot put event at St. Paul Invitational. iors Sidney Herrera and Forest Yang; freshman Ryan Cayer in the 1600 meter race; junior Andres Moran in the 110 hurdles; and freshman Daniel Harrell for the shot put (who also took 5th place in the meet).

Our first Camino Real Meet on March 15 was our best showing so far; going against our rival Cantwell, we scored a huge 81 points against their 31 points for an outstanding victory. Five points are given for first, 3 for second, and 1 for third. Both JV and Varsity proudly won their 4x1 relays and their 4x4 relays–quite an accomplishment!

In distance races, JV star freshman Ryan Cayer won the 800, 1600, & 3200 meter races. Other freshmen also did well: Cristian Figueroa placed second in the JV 1600; Joseph Reynoso and Joey Rivas both finished second in the JV and Varsity 3200m. Junior Sidney Herrera got us five points in the Varsity 800.

In sprints, the following each earned us five points in both the 100 and 200 meter races: junior Gabriel Espejel (JV) and senior Rey Castellanos (Varsity).

Freshman Julio Contreras won the JV 400 meter sprint.

In Varsity 100m hurdles, senior Auggie Escalera won five points, as did junior Andres Moran in the 300m.

Sophomore Alvaro Chavez received a standing ovation from the crowd when he finished and won the JV 300m hurdles.

For field events, senior Roman Kirkbride won both the Varsity long jump and triple jump. In shot put, freshman Daniel Harrell took second in Varsity, and junior Isaiah Rojas took first in JV. Pole vaulting Varsity Seniors Sebastian Rojas and Shant Loussararian won first and second with their vaults.

(Continued on next page)

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SPORTS UPDATE (CONTINUED) Twenty team members, parents and coaches can be seen on the April 9 telecast of “America’s Funniest Videos.”

April Schedule: April 1—Covina Invitational at Covina District Stadium, April 5, 12, and 26—Camino Real League Meets at St. Paul HS, starting at 3:15 p.m.

Finally, we are currently seeking a much-needed pole vault pit and cover. Our vaulters have the ability to reach CIF finals if they have equipment on which to practice. Because of the expense of these items, we are seeking financial contributions Please help us in any way you can. Contact Coach Brad Stolz: bstolz@boscotech.edu.

Senior Sebastian Rojas won first place in the St. Paul Invitational pole vault event.

BASEBALL —BY HEAD BASEBALL COACH ERIC AGAJANIAN

The Tiger baseball team has gotten off to a rough start this season, dropping the first three games. The loss to Chadwick High School was the toughest, with a 4-2 lead in the sixth inning and giving up seven runs that inning. But the Tigers looked to rebound against St. Anthony when league play opened March 17 at the Tech.

Go Tigers!

(Just added: the team won their game against St. Genevieve 21-11 on March 21, getting a strong league start.)

GOLF —BY HEAD GOLF COACH STEVE SOTO

The Tigers finished pre-season play with a 2-2 record with wins over Salesian and St Bernard. Freshman golfers Mavrick Henry, Berndien Balangauan, and junior Jason Zhang have established themselves as our top competitors. Freshman Aaron Lerma, Joshua Morenjo, and Jacob Armas have shown improvement every match and all three continue to compete for the number four spot. St. Paul and La Salle continue to be our toughest competition, but we are ready for the challenge! We look forward to a safe and fun league season. Go, Tigers!

TENNIS

Freshman Joshua Morenjo

—BY HEAD TENNIS COACH RUDY HERRERA

The 2017 season was ushered in with our tennis camp. The retreat center behind Bosco became our base camp and we spent three days prepping mind, body and soul. Over a month later, we have dealt with the adversities teams sometimes deal with, navigated academic and family life, and even started (Continued on next page)

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SPORTS UPDATE (CONTINUED) building the new equipment shed. There are quite a few moving parts and other variables to an athletic season. So much so that a coach could never guarantee a victorious season.

But a few of those moving parts include fashioning a team that, win or lose, each player can be proud of and the school can look at knowing that the team is doing it right. Our players are taught that they do not play for the coaches.

They must be inspired to compete for the honor of and pride in their school and love for their teammates.

FRC ROBOTICS TEAM COMPETES Bosco Tech sent a team of students and instructors to the annual FRC Southern California Robotics competition held at CSU Long Beach at the end of March. The Tech team, composed of students from several technologies but headed primarily by IDEA instructors, worked hundreds of hours to produce a robot that could gather competition balls, and shoot them at a goal—all the while evading other schools’ robots—and then finally attaching itself to a dangling rope and pulling itself up to six feet in the air. This complicated maneuvering demonstrated the talents of students in mechanical and electrical engineering along with considerable design and programming skills. We’re proud of the team and their accomplishment at this year’s event.

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BOSCO TECH MUSIC NEWS —BY BAND BOOSTER MR. JUN REYES

Los Angeles Philharmonic's Symphonies for School

Our Bosco Tech Music Program students attended a Los Angeles Philharmonic concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown L.A. on February 17, thanks to the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Education Department.

The students got a special treat during the show as they were seated behind the orchestra, giving them a different perspective of the performance.

St. Peter’s Italian Church The Royal Tech Marching Band performed at the St. Peter’s Italian Church on March 12. The band is often invited to provide music as the congregation walk in a celebratory procession around the block.

Annual Heritage Festival The Symphonic Band continues to prepare for the Annual Heritage Festival.

The festival will be held this year in San Antonio, TX from March 30 - April 2. Thanks to all that have made this trip possible. We appreciate your continued support.

Jazz Night Out The Jazz Band is also preparing for their Annual Jazz Night Out performance to be held on Friday, April 28.

This year’s theme is “Legends of Rock.” Please join us for a fun-filled night of entertainment as the Jazz Band performs your favorite rock tunes from all ages.

Booster Spotlight The Music Program owes a lot of its success to band director Mr. Daniel Almanza and the Music Boosters. To-

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BOSCO TECH MUSIC NEWS (CONTINUED) gether they take on a multitude of responsibilities that keep our Music Program dynamic and our boys motivated and engaged. This year’s officers are as follows: Yolanda Cornair, President; Ale Morejon, Vice President; Michael Quiros, Secretary; Melissa Hosseini and Sheri Garcia, Treasurers; Jun Reyes, Publicity; Van Kim, Sgt At Arms; Belinda Reyes, Social Media.

The 2016-2017 school year is entering its final months. If your son will be returning for the 2017-2018 school year, encourage him to join the award-winning band program! Please check out the band's YouTube channel, DBTI Music at www.youtube.com/dbtimusic and the program’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/dbtimusic. For more information about the band program, contact Music Director Daniel Almanza at dalmanza@boscotech.edu or dbtimusic@gmail.com.

“Music is forever; music should grow and mature with you, following you right on up until you die.”

—Paul Simon

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Mention Bosco Tech with each tuxedo rental to earn cash for the school !

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APRIL 2017 Please note that dates and events are subject to change. Check the school’s full calendar at www.boscotech.edu (see the Upcoming Events box on the lower right side of the homepage) for the latest updates and for events scheduled for later dates.

Saturday Sunday Tues.-Fri. Tuesday Saturday Sunday Tuesday Wednesday Wed.-Mon. Wed.-Mon. Sunday Tues.-Thurs.

Fri.-Mon. Tuesday Tues.-Fri. Friday Saturday Sunday Mon.-Fri. Tuesday Friday

4/1 4/2 4/4-4/7 4/4 4/8 4/9 4/11 4/12 4/12-4/24 4/12-4/17 4/16 4/18-4/20 4/21-4/24 4/25 4/25-4/28 4/28 4/29 4/30 5/1-5/5 5/2 5/5

Saturday Wednesday Friday Sunday Tuesday Friday Sunday Tuesday Wed.-Thurs.

Friday

5/6 5/10 5/12 5/14 5/16 5/19 5/21 5/23 5/24-5/25 5/26

Monday

5/29

Yurak Run (rescheduled from 2/18) Father-Son Breakfast at 10 a.m.

Kairos #85 Please Note: Football Garage Sale Parent Council meeting at 6 p.m. moved to Sat., 4/8 Football Garae Sale (rescheduled) Palm Sunday Locker cleanout (all) Alumni Association board meeting at 6 p.m.

Easter break (no school) Campus closed (no office hours) Easter Sunday School office hours are 8 a.m.-3 p.m.

Campus is closed (no office hours) Regular classes resume AP Exam prep event black out (no schedule-interrupting events) Jazz Night Out music program begins at 7 p.m.

Class of 2021 placement testing Black & Gold Gala at Millennium Biltmore Hotel Teacher Appreciation Week Parent Council meeting at 6 p.m.

Report cards mailed Deadline for Christian Service hours is now Prom at The Castaway in Burbank 4/26!

SAT (off campus) Alumni Association board meeting at 6 p.m.

International Day Mother’s Day Spring concert and awards ceremony at 6 p.m.

Mother-Son Dance at 7 p.m.

Bosco Tech Family Mass at 9 a.m. in gym Senior awards assembly & luncheon (please join your senior son) Seniors’ tech final exams Salesian Spirit Games (relaxed dress) No class for seniors| Memorial Day (no school)

So Many Great Things Are Happening at Bosco Tech…

SAVE THE DATE

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Yurak Run Father-Son Mass & Breakfast Football Boosters Spring Cleaning Sale Black & Gold Gala Prom Mother-Son Dance Bosco Tech Golf Classic

Saturday, April 1 Sunday, April 2 Saturday, April 8 Sunday, April 30 Friday, May 5 Friday, May 19 Friday, June 30