October Parent Newsletter

ParentNewsletter THE LA SALLE

FOR PARENTS AND FRIENDS OF LA SALLE HIGH SCHOOL • PASADENA • CALIFORNIA • OCTOBER 2017

Principal Ideas Learn•Serve•Lead

Hello. Welcome to October! I hope that the first full month of school has gone well for your students. September flew by with the many special events that took place throughout the month.

Academic Awards On September 7, we celebrated the academic achievements of our students here at La Salle with our Academic Awards Assembly. The following awards were given at the event: • 144 students received Gold Certificates (spring GPA of 4.0 or higher) • 77 students received First Honors (spring GPA of 3.7 - 3.999) • 58 students received Honors (spring GPA of 3.3 - 3.699) • 9 students received the Academic Achievement award for increasing their GPA by 0.5 or more from first semester • 21 students were inducted into the California Scholarship Federation • 7 students were inducted into the National Honor Society • 21 students were inducted into the Science National Honor Society • 35 students were inducted into the National Arts Honor Society.

In addition to GPAs, we also acknowledged the academic co-curriculars in which our students participate: Academic Decathlon, Robotics Team, Speech and Debate, and STEAM. Our students learn so that they can put learning into action. Participation in these programs is a great example of our students taking academic learning and doing something concrete with it.

Besides acknowledging the achievements of our students in the second semester of the 20162017 school year, we were happy to have a guest speaker at the event. Samantha Hardy '16 shared with the students how La Salle helped prepare her for college and what she has learned so far about how to succeed in college.

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In the Words of Saint John Baptist de La Salle "Since the work that you do brings you into contact with many people, learn to live in the spirit of Jesus Christ. They will then be able to see Him in you."

Saint John Baptist de La Salle Patron Saint of Teachers, c1705 Meditations for Sundays

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Principal Ideas Continued from page 1

STEAM Space Heats Up

As you all know, we are supporting our growing STEAM program by creating a maker space on the second floor, adjacent to and within the Blakeslee Library. Demolition of the wall dividing room 205 from the library began September 11, and the crew has been steadily moving forward on the project. If all goes well, we will have the space completed sometime this month. The maker space is just the first part of what will be a larger re-visioning of the Blakeslee Library, which will take place over the summer of 2018.

putting links to his podcasts and website in the Parents section of our website.

Homecoming

October will be another month of excitement here on campus, beginning with our Homecoming Week October 2-7. The theme this year is Movie Mania. Information about the week will be in the daily announcements and posted on Schoology. The week will conclude with the football game against Salesian High School on Kohorst Field Friday night, followed by our homecoming dance Saturday night. I hope to see many of you in the stands on Friday, October 6 for what is sure to be an exciting night.

Security Gate

Freshman Retreat

The freshmen participated in a retreat and day of service on September 11 and 12. I was lucky to be able to work side by side with our students at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank on Tuesday. Service is an integral part of the La Salle student experience and it was wonderful to see our freshmen start their experience of service at La Salle together as one united class. One of the administrators at the site told me how much he loves having La Salle students come and help out because they work so hard. This statement was backed up by numbers he shared with me: before our group entered the food bank that morning the site had been short of its goal by 1,000 boxes of food. By the time our group finished, they were 2,000 boxes over their goal.

Inspirational Roy Petitfils

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On September 14 we had a terrific guest speaker, Roy Petitfils, come and speak to our students and our parents. Thank you to all of our parents who attended his presentation in the evening. We received great feedback from parents and students about his presentation and will be

Parents have probably noticed activity at the entrance to the lower lot off of Michillinda.

We have been working for the past few months on installing a security gate there. Once completed, the gate will be closed throughout the school day.

People will be able to enter that lot by using an intercom system to contact the receptionist, who can then buzz them in. However, if being buzzed in seems too tedious, please remember that we have added two designated visitor spots in the upper lot off of Sierra Madre. You will find them just before the handicap spots on the north side of the lot. Also, street parking is available throughout the day; however, please do not park on the street during the drop-off or pick-up times.

Testing Day

Our annual testing day is Wednesday, October 11. Freshmen, sophomores and juniors will be occupied by a morning of standardized tests.

The freshmen and sophomores will be taking the Pre ACT exam while the juniors will take the PSAT. (For seniors, this day would be a great opportunity to work on their college essays and applications or to go for a local college visit as

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they continue their search process.) I hope that each student approaches these tests seriously.

We know that standardized test scores are an important part of the college application process, and these practice tests help students prepare for the tests that will be sent to colleges.

Additionally, scores on the PSAT can lead to recognition and awards. I am very proud

OCTOBER 2017

Matching Gifts WE ARE ALWAYS GRATEFUL FOR YOUR SUPPORT

to share that five of our La Salle seniors have received Letters of Commendation based on their achievement on the 2016 PSAT/NMSQT: These students are Samuel Christopher, Melody Griffith, Hunter Newell, Kevin Tian and Alexander Weitzel They're among the top 3% of test takers nationwide last year. Congratulations to them all.

First Grading Period

Lastly, Friday, October 13 will conclude the first grading period for the semester. Report cards will be mailed home the following week.

Please be sure you are discussing the report card with your student, and, if he/she is struggling, start talking about what he/she can do in the second quarter to achieve more.

Have a wonderful October.

If you are an employee of a matching gift company, we would love to work with you.

This is an easy way to raise funds for La Salle.

If you are not sure if your company participates, you can ask your employer or contact Tara Milton at: tmilton@lasallehs.org or call 626.696.4381.

Mrs. Courtney R. Kassakhian Principal

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La Salle Matters

FIVE LESSONS RECENTLY LEARNED

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A little over five years ago, I was walking in Manhattan in July when I managed to slam my right foot into a sidewalk that had been elevated by a nearby tree root – a common occurrence in my native NYC. I was wearing sandals at the time (a SoCal affectation that is frowned upon by most New Yorkers) and, wait for it, managed to break the big toe on my right foot. Ignoring the fact that there was blood everywhere, I managed to hobble into the local Walgreens, purchase miles of bandages, cover up the offending injury and move on with my day. Needless to say, being a (stereotypical) middle age male, it never occurred to me that I should see a physician. Fast forward to 2016, my right toe began to take the shape of an angry hump back whale that resulted in a fair amount of skin irritation whenever I wore dress shoes (which, as most of you know, is all the time). Of course, this was a staph infection waiting to happen and, of course, I ignored it until I ended up in Urgent Care, whereupon emergency surgery was the only treatment of choice. That was 18 months ago. Since that time, I’ve had to endure orthopedic shoes, which redistributes my center of gravity, making me look like Captain Hook hobbling on a bad day. My physician explained that, once my toe stabilized, I could have corrective surgery, which would enable me to return to wearing normal shoes.

Enter the present moment. Being the work-a-holic that I am, I had hoped to be able to schedule the second surgery during the summer as it required a minimum of two week’s recuperation.

That’s when I learned the true meaning of “Managed Care.” As a Kaiser patient (and happily so for the last 25 years), I learned that non-emergency surgery is scheduled based on significance (major vs. minor surgery) and frequency of the procedure.

It turns out that podiatric surgeries are not all that

frequent and, consequently, I would have to wait until there were enough patients like myself to warrant the allocation of a surgical suite. That’s when I discovered “Managed Care” means “you manage your care.” After weeks of interacting with the automated scheduling system, I finally received a surgical appointment for the middle of September…great… now I would have to miss two weeks of school.

Happily, the surgery was a success and, as I write this column, I am home learning how to be patient being a patient. As I near the end of my first week of recuperation, I have discovered five lessons concerning the beneficial – albeit unintended – consequences of having to take an unplanned amount of time off from work.

Top Five Lessons: #5 Take the time to think We all gripe about how little time is available during the workday to just think.

We’ve all heard (or been guilty of saying): “If only I had more time to think.”

Well, now I have plenty of time to think and here’s what I have discovered: there really isn’t enough time in the workday to think. It is just too easy to fall into the temptation that, if I’m not doing something at work, then I am not being productive. And yet, in my role as President of La Salle, I am expected to see the “big picture” and to chart the trailing effects of any single decision (mine and others) made at any time during the work week. How can I measure up to that expectation if I don’t carve out some time to think? I’ve spent a lot of time this week thinking about the things I didn’t have time to think about last week and I am astonished at how much better I am at crafting solutions to the daily challenges I was previously managing on the fly. Because of my impending enforced solitude, I brought home a handful of big projects that would need my quality

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OCTOBER 2017

attention, and which would not receive it during an ordinary workweek, with a view that I would have plenty of time to think about how to execute them. The latter assumption has proven to be correct; ironically, I’ve made significant progress on only one of them. Which leads me to: #4 Do not treat recuperation time as if it were “prison” time A mere 24 hours after the surgery, I was wondering what I was going to do with two weeks’ worth of time at home in which I would have a limited ability to move around (as I write this, but for my patio, I haven’t been outside the house in a week). Surely, I thought, the next two weeks would move at a glacial pace and I would start to behave like Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (a dated reference, if you aren’t a Baby Boomer). As I look back at the week now ending, I wonder – where did the time go? In point of fact, it was fairly evenly divided between sleeping more than I have in a very long time, reading books that have been piled up next to my desk for years, working on school projects and interacting with friends, colleagues and family; which leads to: #3 Cheerfully accept the kindness of friends (and family) My brother-in-law, a retired health care professional, flew in from Wisconsin to act as my personal Florence Nightingale (which was particularly appreciated when he arrived at midnight to administer the pain meds). At first, I felt guilty that I was imposing on his good nature and was reluctant to ask him to do things for me. As time went on, I realized I had to let go of my need to be independent and to give myself permission to accept his kindness – a very humbling moment for this “Type A” personality! In a similar way, I was surprised by the steady stream of visits, phone calls, texts and emails (not to mention the array of flower arrangements that arrived on my doorstep!) from friends and colleagues.

Despite the toxic political environment we all face, empathy is alive and well in Pasadena … which leads me to: #2 Recognize your colleagues need the break, too Anyone who has worked with me over the last 18 years (employed/volunteer) will roll their eyes when they learn that my time away from the office has helped me to realize that my intense focus on moving the School forward can be exhausting for everyone who gets sucked into my orbit.

While I continue to struggle with the notion that I didn’t need a break from work, it has become clear to me that they

La Salle Matters Continued on page 6

La Salle High School

3880 E. Sierra Madre Blvd.

Pasadena, California 91107-1996 • Telephone 626.351.8951 Facsimile 626.351.0275 www.lasallehs.org • The La Salle ParentNewsletter is published monthly except January and July

by La Salle High School of Pasadena, Incorporated

© 2017

• Editor, Designer John Blackstock ’67 Director of Communications Telephone: 626.696.4316 • email: jblackstock @ lasallehs . org

Transforming Lives Since 1680

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EVEN ParentNewsletter

OCTOBER 2017

La Salle Matters Continued from page 5

needed recovery time at least as much as I did. They get to catch up on their “to do” list while I am gone; free from the dreaded “Richard question:” Have you thought about this idea? Which leads me to the #1 lesson I’ve learned while recovering from surgery:

Faith, Service, Community The Purpose of Lasallian Education: to provide a human and Christian education to the young, especially the poor, according to the ministry which the Church has entrusted to it.

- The Rule of the Brothers of the Christian School, 1694 Saint John Baptist de La Salle Patron of All Teachers Founder, Brothers of the Christian Schools

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#1 God writes straight with crooked lines My Sottish-Irish father constantly reminded us of this admonition from the time we could walk. Whatever went right/wrong, he would remind us of this principle: we can’t know the long-term consequences of what is happening to us right now because “God writes straight with crooked lines.” Each zig/zag in our journey is there for a purpose and the straight path those curves feed into is only visible when we look in the “rear view mirror” decades after they happened.

Certainly my own journey as a Catholic educator provided enough zigs and zags that, when I started teaching in a Catholic high school on the edge of the South Bronx in the 1970s, I never imagined I’d end up in Southern California 40 years later. In a similar fashion, I never imagined that, when I arrived at La Salle 18 years ago, I would find myself obsessing about how I would handle two weeks away from work and the necessity of reevaluating how I structure my time to accomplish the tasks necessary to ensure the School’s continued success now and in the future.

And yet, that is exactly my “take-away” from this experience. God needed to remind me that I’m not essential to the School’s success without the support and collaboration of my family, friends and colleagues.

I needed to take the time to see the “big picture” that I am constantly reminding everyone else to look for; to recognize that this particular zig/zag in my journey at La Salle was necessary to ensure that I become more aware of everyone else’s journey and the crooked lines they – inevitably – must negotiate.

Not a bad lesson to be learned from a five-year old broken toe.

Let us remember we are in the Holy Presence of God. Richard Gray, Ph.D. President

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Roy Petitfils Opens Many Eyes

On Thursday, September 14, Roy Petitfils, who is a licensed psychotherapist and presenter, spoke to the student body during the day and to over 120 parents later that night. Roy was well received by both groups.

When he spoke to the students, he used his own personal story to get his message across of not letting kids be invisible. He emphasized to the students that sometimes we have to leave our comfort zones to help someone, and we definitely have to leave our comfort zones to ask for help. Many students were so moved by his talk that they told their parents to come and listen to him speak that evening.

In his evening presentation, he told parents how students were growing up and how they are different from when the parents were at their age. He also spoke about anxiety levels and depression being on the rise in adolescents.

Several parents requested more material, so Roy provided links to some of his podcasts and other information. (See below).

These links are also posted on the website in the parent section.

Thank you to all those who attended and took advantage of this wonderful information.

STUDENT LIFE ASSEMBLY

Podcast links: http://www.roypetitf ils.com/ understanding-teenagers-podcast/ https://itunes.apple.com/ us/podcast/todays-teenager/ id1118889657?mt=2

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OCTOBER 2017

From the Parent Association

Our New Journey Continues

As the date was quickly approaching for our first Parent Association meeting of the new school year, I was nervous with anticipation wondering what it would be like. My nervous anticipation quickly dissipated, when I saw the monthly prayer wall at the School. At that moment, everything was brought into perspective for me. I stopped and read a few of the prayer requests and knew that everything would be ok. I am so grateful to be surrounded by our wonderful parents, administrators, and faculty at La Salle High School.

Our first meeting of the general Parent Association and Booster groups had a fantastic turn out. All in all, these meetings demonstrated that we are off to a great start on our amazing journey. It was inspiring hearing from our students, administrators, faculty and our Regent and Trustee members.

On Tuesday, October 10, we will have our second monthly Parent Association and Boosters meeting. If you did not have the chance to attend one of the September meetings, don’t Parent Association miss out this time as meeting agendas have great guest speakers and you will also learn more Meeting about our upcoming events and additional opportunities for parent involvement. All of the October 10, 2017 Booster groups need your help, and we strongly encourage everyone to take part in whatever Booster group you can. In addition to helping out with various School events and activities, 6:30pm participation in any of these meetings is a great way to stay connected with the School and Blakeslee Library meet other parents in the La Salle family community.

For our October general Parent Association meeting we will be featuring La Salle’s new Innovation Lab with a presentation by Dr. Doug Ryerson and Dr. Jude Lucas. Please join us for what promises to be another excellent meeting. As a reminder, all parents are given credit for one service hour for each meeting attended.

On our journey through this new school year, I wanted to take this opportunity to re-introduce La Salle’s core values to our parent community: 1. Faith in the presence of God 2. Concern for the poor and social justice 3. Quality education 4. Respect for all persons 5. Inclusive community As we navigate our way on this journey, please share these core values with your students.

Special thanks to the parents who have volunteered to assist with Grandparents Day and our No-Cost Fundraiser. If you have not had an opportunity to visit our amazing Lancer Amory on campus, please come by and visit Jacky and her team.

“The synergy of parts working together is much more effective than a bunch of great people each working on their own.” By Dr. Allen Hunt

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Emily Vaughn Henry P'18 Parent Association President

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SAVE THE DATES FOR THIS GREAT NEW MUSICAL

November 10th - 7pm November 11th - 2pm and 7pm November 12th - 4 pm November 17th - 7pm November 18th - 2pm and 7pm November 19th - 4pm

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OCTOBER 2017

OCTOBER 2017

A SPECIAL EVENT TO HONOR OUR VETERANS

Veterans Honored In commemoration of Veterans Day, the La Salle High School Alumni Association is hosting a special assembly in front of the student body on Thursday, November 9 to honor all members of the La Salle community who have served or are currently serving in the Armed Forces.

If there is a member of your family that you would like to have included in this special event as an honored guest please contact Kristen Schultz ’98 in the Alumni Office at 626.696.4362 or kschultz@lasallehs.org.

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La Salle High School’s Veterans Day Assembly November 9, 2017 9:15am La Salle High School Duffy Lewis Gymnasium Active duty military and veterans should feel free to wear military uniforms, as appropriate.

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OCTOBER 2017

From the Athletic Director

New Athletic Calendar Hello Lancers,

I write to inform you that the La Salle Athletic Department has a new all inclusive athletic calendar on our website. The athletic website is our main source of communication and we want to give you the details on how to utilize the athletic calendar. You can get to the athletic website by clicking on athletics from the main school site at www.lasallehs. org or by logging on directly to www.lasallelancers.org

Once you have accessed the site, hover over calendar which is located to the far right next to boosters. Click on athletic calendar and you will see the full calendar for the current month. You can view the month, week or day. The calendar includes all practices, games, team events, non-team events, athletic facility bookings and the like. In addition, you can click on an away game to get the dismissal time, bus departure time and even the link for directions to the event. Please use this calendar as the one stop shop for all athletic information moving forward.

A GREAT NEW SOURCE OF LANCER ATHLETIC INFORMATION

If you are viewing from your mobile device or iPad, be sure to click view the full website to get the best result. Please do not click the mobile view. At this point, you cannot subscribe to this calendar but we hope to offer a subscription

down the line.

If you notice any issues with the calendar please email the athletic office at sbaugh@lasallehs.org so we can address the concern immediately. We need everyone to buy in to this communication for it to work. With that in mind, we look forward to earning your trust with this communication as we navigate the 2017 - 2018 school year.

Thank you,

Anthony Harris Athletic Director

GO LANCERS!

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OCTOBER 2017

From the College Counseling Center

College Center News

By Tina Bonacci '94, Owen Hou ’90 and Marcia Yu, College Counselors

Colleges Scheduled to Visit La Salle in October

The College Center has already hosted many colleges during the month of September, and many more are scheduled to visit La Salle in October.

Colleges are being added to the College Visit Calendar every day. Please check the Naviance website under ‘View All Upcoming College Visits’ or the College Center bulletin board for the most up-to-date schedule. Please also encourage your student to list his or her colleges of interest in Family Connection by Naviance, as it automatically generates e-mail reminders to your student when a college he or she is interested in visits La Salle.

SENIOR SURVEY DUE NOW

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One-on-one College Application Meetings with Seniors

Ms. Bonacci, Mr. Hou and Mrs. Yu are busy meeting with students who have completed their Senior Survey. Unfortunately, a significant number of students have not completed it yet.

Please encourage your student to complete their Senior College Planning Survey online at Family Connection on Naviance if he or she has not done so already. Based upon their responses to the survey, the college counselors will be able to review the student’s college list, suggest colleges as needed, review deadlines, and application requirements. So the sooner students meet with their counselor the better prepared they will be to put forth the best college application possible without having to rush.

Monday, October 9, Wednesday, October 11, and Monday, October 30, are days off for seniors to catch up on the college application process.

Seniors can use these days wisely by visiting college campuses, working on their college essay/personal statement or finalizing their college list on Family Connection. Seniors will find the process to be less stressful once they finalize their college list and start

their applications. Those three days are also excellent opportunities to submit Cal State applications and to check them off their ‘to do’ list.

SAT/ACT Testing

Seniors have their last opportunity to take standardized tests in December: SAT or SAT Subject Tests Test Dates: 3● November 4 (Regular Registration Deadline: October 5) ● December 2 (Regular Registration 3 Deadline: November 2) ACT Test Date: 3● December 9 (Regular Registration Deadline: November 3)

UC & Cal State Applications

The University of California application is currently available at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/. The UC application filing period is November 1 to November 30. We encourage students to submit their applications before the Thanksgiving holiday to avoid the high volume of applications submitted in the last week of November.

The California State application, www2. calstate.edu/apply, opened on October 1 and will remain open until November 30. Many of the 23 California State University campuses are impacted for first time freshmen. Go to http://www.calstate. edu/SAS/ for the full listing of CSU campuses.

We suggest students to apply broadly to the CSU campuses. La Salle High School is considered a local high school to CSU Los Angeles and CSU Northridge which means that our students will be accepted to these campuses as long as they are CSU eligible given the CSU eligibility index (GPA and test scores on a sliding scale).

ParentNewsletter Private Schools

Most private colleges utilize the Common Application and it can be accessed electronically at www.commonapp.org. Please check each out-ofstate and private colleges’ websites for their application procedures.

OCTOBER 2017

Ventura County College Tour October 30, 2017 Cal State Channel Islands, Cal Lutheran University, UC Santa Barbara

Art Schools

If your student plans to apply to performing and visual arts programs, please make sure to review carefully the application requirements for information about portfolio submissions, auditions, and/or interviews. All students planning to submit portfolios should plan on attending the National Portfolio Day, an art school college fair where admission officers will offer critiques of students’ work on the spot, on Saturday, October 21, from 11:00 to 3:00pm at CalArts in Valencia. Please visit http://www.portfolioday.net/2017-18-schedule/ event/87 for a complete list of attending colleges and additional information.

Cash for College/FAFSA Workshop

On October 3rd 6:30-8:30pm, Blakeslee Library, we will be offering a workshop in partnership with Cash for College to answer questions related to the FAFSA and complete your FAFSA on the spot.

We highly recommend bringing your own laptop as we now have a limited number of computers in the library.

Standardized Testing for 9th , 10th and 11th Grades

Just a reminder that all 9th , 10th and 11th grade students will be testing on Wednesday, October 11. Freshman and Sophomore students will take the PreACT, and Juniors will take the PSAT. Everyone should bring their calculator and number two pencils. All students should finish around 11:30pm.

College Tours

We are offering the following college tours in the spring. Registration forms for the Ventura County College Tour can be found at www.lasallehs. org, under “Academics”, “College Counseling”, and finally “College Tours”.

Cal State Channel Islands

San Diego College Tour​ February 5, 2018 University of San Diego, UC San Diego, San Diego State University Bay Area College Tour March 5-6, 2018 Santa Clara University, UC Santa Cruz, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Saint Mary’s College of CA

Mock SAT and ACT

The Academic Boosters, with the help of Revolution Prep, will again be offering SAT and ACT practice tests this fall.

Mock SAT - Saturday, 9/30 from 9:00am to 1:00pm Register at: www.revolutionprep.com/programs/40758

FAFSA WORKSHOP OCTOBER 3

Mock ACT - Saturday, 10/21 from 9:00am to 1:00pm Register at: www.revolutionprep.com/programs/40759

The donation is $20 for each test. All proceeds go to the Academic Boosters.

Keeping Track of your Accomplishments

It is very important that your students keep track of their awards, accomplishments, work, internships, honor societies, volunteering work, etc. throughout their high school years as this information will be very valuable when they fill out their college applications in the future. It is also a very good way to build their resume one piece at a time.

This can be done on Naviance’s ‘About Me’ tab by clicking on the ‘My Resume’ link. Be sure to always keep a printed copy as well.

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Daniel Cina Earns Scoutings Highest Rank - Eagle

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Senior Daniel Joseph Cina has earned the coveted rank of Eagle from the Boy Scouts of America.

Daniel started his scouting career as a cub scout in troop 356 at Saints Felicitas & Perpetua Church. He is currently a member of Troop 351 in San Marino.

Daniel's Eagle Project was to install wooden parking stops in the upper parking lot of La Salle High School.He also repainted the bleachers used for sporting events at La Salle.

The parking stops project began with measuring and marking each individual spot. "We then drilled the specific holes into the wood to fit the attchement nails and drilled holes in the asphalt to install the nails through the wood stops," reports Daniel. "We had additional Scout crews tearing out the old wood stops and another crew prparing the new stops for installation," he said. Another crew was painting all the wood on the field bleachers. Each crew was coordinated to complete each task as required in sequence.

Daniel received his Eagle Badge in January and is still involved with Scouting and has the current position of Troop Guide. Daniel believes it is important to give back to his fellow scouts as repayment for those who helped him along the way.

Daniel also wanted to achieve this goal to honor his uncle and godfather Alfonso Tarantino who passed away from cancer at the age of 34. Daniel believes Scouting has helped reinforce his Catholic faith and what he has learned at La Salle about giving service to others.

Every scout has many great scouting memories, but two that stand out for Daniel are white water rafting on the Kern River and a visit with the Mountain Men. "The white water ride was pretty intense with lots of ups and downs. I was nearly tossed from our raft a couple of times. It was scarry and exciting at the same time," he says. The next great memory was at Holcomb Valley in Big Bear at his scout camp. Across the meadow was a Mountain Man reenactor gathering. "They allowed the scouts in for free and we were able to load and fire muskets, throw knives and hatchets and see working settlers camps. We learned about the experiences of some of the first settlers to the area. It was also great to be with my friends."

The fact that a boy is an Eagle Scout has always carried with it a special significance, not only in Scouting but also for the young man as he enters higher education, business or industry, and community service. Only about five percent of all Boy Scouts earn the rank of Eagle Scout.

Daniel believes that attaining his Eagle Scout award demonstrates that he has learned a great deal about the outdoors, self preservation, conservation skills and leadership. "Experience is one of the best teachers in life and the best way to gain experience is scouting. This award is not just handed to you, you earn it and you must be dedicated to do so. This dedication has helped me in other aspects of my life and I am truly grateful for my scouting experience."

Daniel has aspirations of becoming a dentist following college.

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OCTOBER 2017

From Institutional Advancement

Creative Ways to Support La Salle High School

La Salle High School has established a program by which donors and supporters can contribute to the School’s endowment through one of a number of Planned Giving Instruments.

Donors who contribute $1,000 or more through such a gift become members in the St. Benilde Society.

Traditional charitable giving in support of La Salle High School includes donations of cash and property, both of which not only provide valuable tax deductions to the donor but are also effective ways to support our School. In many cases, similarly effective donations can be made without as significant of cost as a donor would absorb when making a traditional cash donation by utilizing life insurance as a vehicle to support our School.

Examples of how to support La Salle High School using life insurance strategies include the following.

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Naming our School as a full or partial beneficiary is the simplest way to provide support using life insurance. This strategy does not impact one’s investment portfolio either. It can also provide a high level of privacy and confidentiality for donors for whom this is a consideration.

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Donating a policy to our School is another popular way of support. There can be significant estate tax deductions associated with such a donation, and a current tax deduction can be available dependent upon the policy’s built in current value.

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Another gifting structure is one in which our School owns the policy and the premiums are paid by way of cash gifts made by the donor to La Salle.

NEW WAYS TO GIVE TO LA SALLE

When using life insurance as a vehicle to support any charity, the planning for such must be addressed within the current legal, tax and regulatory environment.

Please review the Planned Giving articles in future publications of both the Parent Newsletter and Lancer Magazine for ongoing updates in the Planned Giving Program.

In Summary

La Salle High School can provide more information, both generically and specifically, regarding the benefits available through Planned Giving. For more information, please contact Jon Keates, Director of Institutional Advancement at 626.696.4344.

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LANCERS PRAY AT THE CATHEDRAL

OCTOBER 2017

Archdiocese Prayer Breakfast La Salle students attending the Los Angeles Archdiocese annual prayer breakfast at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels were, from left, Will Dalgarn, Gia Martinez, Mary Harmon, Audrey Sirois, Meredith Moreno, Sophia Kedjidjian, Michael Malicdem and Joshua Ng. The purpose of the Catholic Prayer Breakfast is to bring Catholics from throughout the archdiocese together in community to pray and celebrate our Catholic faith, as well as to witness an edifying keynote adress.

Speech & Debate at Yale

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The weekend of September 5, 2017, Varsity Speech & Debate had a busy, busy weekend in New Haven, CT.

In their first ever Varsity competition at one of the most competitive tournaments in the country, Sebastian Dunbar and Harlan Crawford and Danny Valdez and Cade Anderson went 3-3. Asher Towner gave every Lincoln-Douglas debater a run for their money and went 4-2, but got knocked out in a "bubble round" that determined who would go to out-rounds.

John Nahas and Jack Crawford went 6-0 in preliminary rounds (one of only 3 teams in the entire competition to do so). They got to double octos (top 32 teams) and got knocked out, but not before they took down the top team of the tournament in Triple Octos (top 48 teams).

We look forward to our next competition at California State University Long Beach on September 30 and October 1.

ParentNewsletter

OCTOBER 2017

La Salle Christmas Trees Order By November 6 • Pick up on December 8 and 9

Don’t need a tree for yourself?

Help us spread some holiday cheer and support our troops.

Purchase a tree for a military family at Fort Irwin in Barstow.

SEE ORDER FORM ON WEBSITE

You only need to buy a tree and La Salle will handle the delivery..

See Christmas Tree Order Form Attached to this eNewsletter

You can also order online www.lasallehs.org/xmastree2017 All Proceeds Support Student Life All trees must be picked up on the La Salle field.

Trees can be picked up on December 8 from 4:00 to 7:00pm and December 9 from 9:00am to 1:00pm.

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OCTOBER 2017

ParentNewsletter

OCTOBER 2017 OCTOBER 2017

ARTS MEET & GREET Welcome to the 2017-2018 Arts Season!

Please join us to share our long-term vision for La Salle High School’s Department of Arts & Media! Along with our talented Department Chair, Jude Lucas, our inspiring staff from each discipline will provide background and give a preview of their goals for this year.

Light nnacks and beverages will be provided. •

Tuesday, October 10th 2017 Linda M. Grinstead Theatre, 7:30pm (following the Parent Association Meeting) RSVP by October 5th to Arts Booster Secretary Doreen Harmon: theharmon5@hotmail.com

Art. Dance. Lancer Film & Media. Music. Theatre.

25 Annual Lancer Golf Classic October 9, 2017 Registration is Open! th

https://one.bidpal.net/lancergolfclassic2017/welcome

San Gabriel Country Club 11:00am Shotgun Start

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ParentNewsletter OCTOBER

OCTOBER 2017

Check your school calendar for event times and dates

October Highlights October 2-6 Movie Mania Homecoming Week Theme

LA SALLE HOMECOMING OCTOBER 6

LANCER GOLF CLASSIC OCTOBER 9

COLUMBUS DAY HOLIDAY OCTOBER 9

OPEN HOUSE NOVEMBER 5

October 2 Homecoming Movie Theme "Sleepless in Seatle" October 2-4 Front entrance and entryway closed for refurbishing.

Use lower parking lot as appropriate. No lunch drop-offs October 3 Homecoming Movie Theme "Sky High" Faculty & Staff Convocation 3:00pm Grinstead Theatre GIRLS VOLLEYBALL vs Bishop Montgomery H.S. 5:00pm Gymnasium College Information Night Cash For College 6:30-7:30pm Blakeslee Library October 4 Homecoming Movie Theme "Pretty in Pink" $1 Dress Day October 5 Homecoming Movie Theme "Sandlot" October 6 Rally Schedule Homecoming Movie Theme "Moana" Homecoming Periods 3,4,1

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October 6 continued Junior High Football Night FOOTBALL vs Salesian Varsity 7:00pm Kohorst Field October 7 Saturday Alumni National Day of Service Homecoming Dance "Movie Premiere Night" 7:00-10:30pm Dining Hall October 9 School Holiday Columbus Day Lancer Golf Classic 11:00am San Gabriel Country Club October 10 Periods 2,5,6,7 Parent Association Meeting 6:30pm Blakeslee Library Parent Boosters Meetings 7:30pm Campus Locations October 11 National Testing Day Grades 9, 10, 11 8:00am - 12:30pm Senior Free Day (College Visits Suggested) October 12 GIRLS TENNIS vs St. Joseph High School 3:00pm Orange Grove Courts

October 13 End First Quarter Grading Period FOOTBALL vs St. Francis High School Senior Night Varsity 7:00pm Kohorst Field October 17 BOYS WATER POLO vs Flintridge Prep 3:00pm Arcadia Park Pool GIRLS VOLLEYBALL vs St. Paul High School 6:00pm Duffy Lewis Gymnasium October 18-20 Junior Retreat October 30 Student Holiday Ventura County College Tour Faculty Faith Formation Day 8:30am Bishop Amat HS October 31 Halloween Costume Day November 1 Liturgy Schedule All Saints Day-Dress Uniforms 9:30am Dining Hall November 5 Sunday Open House 12:00 - 2:30pm Campus

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