PIONEER NEWSBRIEFS

pioneer

newsBriefs

seniors Begin AcAdemic yeAr with A new trAdition

MemBerS oF tHe Senior claSS gatHered at tHe griFFitH Park Observatory on August 29th to partake in a new tradition of watching the sunrise together. The sunrise symbolizes energy, warmth, creative vitality, hope, and new beginnings. The Senior Class officers gathered their classmates together to see the beauty of a sunrise together and reflect on their dreams for a successful senior year. Maria Benedicto ‘16 and Chris Lingat ‘16 led everyone in prayer asking for strength and unity. Seniors wrote letters to themselves reflecting on their hopes for the year which were placed in a “senior time capsule.” At the end of the school year seniors will gather to watch the sunset, open up their time capsule, and reflect on the wonderful memories created during the 2015-2016 school year.

“The Senior Sunrise is a great new tradition that was introduced this year into Providence, and I believe that since our class was the first to experience it, it has special meaning, and it definitely got my classmates excited to participate. It was so symbolic, how at the beginning of our year we all watched the sunrise. I think it definitely showed how united and loyal we are to each other. Not many people would be willing to get up at 5 A.M. and drive in the cold just to watch the sunrise for an hour, but the class of 2016 was, and I believe that demonstrates how the Senior Sunrise was able to bring the Senior Class together at the beginning of our final year together.” - Brigitte Solarzano ‘16

“The Senior Sunrise was an opportunity to bond with one another and to enjoy each other’s company. We reminisced about our past three years at Providence and discussed the knowledge and experience we’ve gained. We played, we prayed, and we laughed as the sky changed from darkness to light. The Senior Sunrise united us as a class and made for a great start to our senior year.”

- Rachel Camonayan ‘16

BroAdwAy reVue rAises funds for choir exPenses

On FridaY, octoBer 2nd , tHe PerForming artS dePartment kicked off its season of “New Horizons.” The Annual Broadway Revue is the first of five main stage performances featuring the Providence High Arts Choral & Drama students. It was a wonderful evening filled with music, dancing, fine dining, and scenes from some of Broadway's biggest hits.

Not only was it an amazing performance by the students, more than $5,000 in profit was raised which will help to support the choral program’s travel expenses. All of Providence’s choral ensembles will be performing in numerous music festivals and competitions. Les Dames, Los Caballeros, and Pioneer Chorus will be singing at the Music in the Parks competition at the Disneyland Resort, and Providence Singers is scheduled to compete in the National Heritage Competition in Honolulu.

sPeciAl guests Visit medicAl focus ProgrAm students

Fr. (dr.) Jack mccartHY, 2015 miSSion doctor oF tHe Year, and Ms. Elise Frederick, Director of the Mission Doctors Organization, spent a day at PHS on October 20th to speak to students in the Medical Focus Program about global health and serving the needs of the poor and vulnerable.

Fr. Jack has been serving for more than 30 years in rural Peru as a Mission Doctor, bringing smiles to hundreds of people through compassionate work in the field of medicine and surgery.

mArine Biology students discoVer PeArl during oyster dissection

On FridaY, octoBer 23rd , during mr. Bird'S marine BiologY class, a group of PHS girls discovered a pearl. The class was studying barnacles that live on the shells of oysters. The class received their fresh oysters in order to perform their barnacle and oyster dissection. Being a very hands-on class, the students often work with living organisms.

After completing the barnacle dissection, they decided to add a bit of competition. Oysters are very hard to open and require very skilled hands. To make it fun, the girls in the class teamed up to show the boys they would be better at opening the oysters, which without a doubt they were. Not only were the girls excited about the phenomenal job they did opening the oyster, but to their surprise, they found a pearl. This was an amazing experience. Only one in every 10,000 oysters are capable of producing pearls and even fewer oysters make one large enough to be considered jewelry size. This pearl was definitely jewelry size.

The students were able to see firsthand what a raw pearl looks like. The seven girls, Poni Dykstra-Tucker ‘17, Maria Franco ‘17, Muriel Martin ‘17, Mika Mohnani ‘17, Adriana Ortega ‘17, Emily Pfeiffer ‘17, and Angie Robledo ‘17 donated their pearl to the Marine Biology classroom so future marine biology students could see what a raw pearl looks like in person.

2015-2016 Pioneer AchieVement AwArd reciPients

THiS Year’S Pioneer acHievement award reciPientS include Maddie Bruno ‘16, Andrew Harris ‘16, Amely Sijo ‘16, Harrison Pyros ‘16, and Thomas Keller ‘16.

weight room undergoes A renoVAtion

OriginallY deSigned in 2002, tHe weigHt room in tHe Student Activity Center was given a bit of a face-lift over the summer.

Both the weight room and the multi-functional athletic room had a new rubberized floor installed. Additionally, the multi-functional athletic room had a pro-style workout grid painted on the floor. The weight room had four Patriot Lifting Racks installed, weight platforms with logos, new plates, dumbbells, kettle balls, slam balls, four sets of plyometric boxes, and racks to hold all of the new equipment.

The rooms were designed by SST Weight Rooms and the equipment manufactured by Rae Crowther Co.

Steve Kenyon, CEO of SST Weight Rooms came to Providence and gave a clinic on the best uses of the new weight room for all of the coaches. He also made available videos that detail his workout philosophy to all of our coaching staff.

The old weight room equipment was donated to San Fernando High School.

Maddie is a member of the flags team, involved in the drama department, part of the Technology Focus Program, and a member of the National Honor Society (NHS) and the California Scholarship Federation (CSF). Andrew is a member of the Associated Student Body (ASB) as the Sergeant of Arms, plays varsity volleyball, and is a cadet with the Civil Air Patrol. Thomas is the captain of the boys’ baseball team and a member of the Technology Focus Program.

Harrison is the ASB vice president, part of the cross country, basketball, and baseball teams, in addition to the Cinema Arts Focus Program, and a member of NHS and CSF. Amely is involved in the drama department, is a student ambassador, and a member of the Spanish Honor Society, NHS and CSF.

In addition to their impressive extra-curricular activities, they are all AP students. Congratulations to them all for this fine achievement!