Yosemite & Coarsegold Districts
School News
February 28, 2005

Performing Arts Center to open February 22 at Yosemite High
Challenge Day returns to YHS
Exit Exam required for high school diploma
YHS Academic Decathlon team wins county again
Williams case orders schools to meet mandates
Calendar change for Coarsegold School students
Use YHS pick-up, drop-off area
YHS Interact Presentation
Romeo and Juliet plays March 3-5

Performing Arts Center to open
February 22 at Yosemite High

JUDY DURR
The Performing Arts Center at YHS will officially open at 7 p.m. February 22.

The grand opening of the Performing Arts Center at Yosemite High will be held Tuesday, February 22, at 7 p.m. The public is invited.

There will be performances by the drama department, choir and band. There will also be an art display.

The center will seat 400 people, including permanent seating and an area for temporary seating.

This is one of the last projects in the school’s renovation project that started in 1998 after voters passed an $11.76 million bond.

Funds for the projects have come from the local bond, state bond funds, grants, private donations and state matching funds.

The final project is well underway at the campus. This is a 23-classroom building at the front end of YHS. It is scheduled for completion this summer.
District Superintendent Bill McCabe notes that when the classrooms are completed, every promise made during the bond campaign will have been fulfilled. In addition to remodeling several buildings, there is a new cafeteria /multi-purpose room; swim complex; music classrooms and the new classroom complex.

Challenge Day returns to YHS

Over 200 students and 50 adults will participate in the third annual Challenge Day at Yosemite High School Tuesday and Wednesday, February 22 and 23.

Professional trainers from Challenge Day in Martinez facilitate the program. Chal-lenge Day is described as a program committed to stopping teen violence and alienation. The program is de-signed “to tear down the walls of separation, inspiring participants to live, study and work in an environment of compassion, acceptance and respect.”

Students from all of the various groups on campus are invited to participate. The students will be trained to interact in a positive way with those who are not in their group and who do not have the same interests they have.

Through the day’s activities, students see that they are not alone, that other students have the same problems and concerns and adults have experienced the same situations the teens are now facing.

The two-day program costs between $9,000 and $10,000. All of the funds must be raised in the community. Students participate in the Christmas Tree Auction, they visit service clubs and they seek donations from businesses and organizations. For the second year, Challenge Day has received a $3,000 grant from the Madera County Public Health Depart-ment.

Confidentiality is one of the most emphasized aspects of Challenge Day.
In a survey after last year’s event, students expressed positive reactions to the day. One student wrote that the best part of the day was “being able to open our hearts and our minds,” while another wrote “getting real with each other was the best thing.”

In addition to community adults, school staff members participate as well as school board members.

Exit Exam required for high school diploma

Beginning with the 2005-06 school year, all California public school students are required to pass the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) to receive a high school diploma. This graduation requirement is mandated by state law. All students, including English learners and students with disabilities, must first take the CAHSEE in the tenth grade. Students do not need to pass both parts of the CAHSEE at the same administration in order to pass the CAHSEE. Students who do not pass the exam in grade 10 will have additional opportunities in grades 11 and 12 to retake the part(s) not passed.

The exam is divided into two parts: (1) English-language arts (reading and writing) and (2) mathematics. All questions are aligned to California academic content standards adopted by the State Board of Education. Academic content standards describe what students should know and be able to do at each grade level from kindergarten through grade 12.
Yosemite Joint Union High School District can provide parents or guardians with information on the academic content standards assessed by the CAHSEE, or they can download the CAHSEE test blueprints on the Internet at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/hs/admin.asp.

Students must earn a score of 350 or higher on each of the two parts of the CAHSEE to pass the exam.

Students must pass the CAHSEE in addition to meeting all other state and local requirements to receive their high school diploma. Stu-dents with disabilities and English learners must also meet CAHSEE requirements.
The CAHSEE will be administered at the school site during regular school hours on the dates specified below. As required by state law, students in grade 10 must take the CAHSEE during the March 2005 administration. For students who are absent, a make-up administration will be offered in May. Students will receive additional instruction, if needed, to ensure success on this exam. Grade 11 students who have not passed one or both parts of the CAHSEE can take the CAHSEE in November and will have an additional opportunity, if needed, in May.

The CAHSEE will be administered to YJUHSD students March 15 and 16 and makeup exams will be given May 10 and 11 for juniors.

For the latest information on the CAHSEE, visit the California Department of Education’s Web site at: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/hs. For further questions about the CAHSEE, parents can contact their student’s school office during regular school hours.

YHS Academic Decathlon team wins county again

For the 11th consecutive year, the Yosemite High School Academic Decathlon team has won the Madera County competition.

The local team will compete at the state level March 10 in Los Angeles.
YHS senior Veronica Stew-art was named the top student in the county competition. She earned 6,368 points out a possible 10,000 to achieve that distinction.

The YHS team scored a total of 34,226 points to win.

Five other county schools competed: Buena Vista, Cha-wanakee Academy, Chow-chilla, Liberty and Madera high schools.

There are five seniors on the YHS team: Stewart, Anthony Grimes, Michael McCarty, Jennifer Munn and Jeff Parish. Other team members are juniors Ryan Fullerton, Jessica Tyson, Kimberly Usher and sophomore Sam-antha Perry.

In addition to being named top student for the competition, Stewart received gold medals in social studies and art which earned her $200. She also received a silver medal in economics and three bronze medals in music, literature and language and the Super Quiz. She received $100 for being the top student from Yosemite High and $200 for being the top student in the county.

Usher received three gold medals and $300. She brought home the gold in interview, music and language and literature. She received bronze medals in speech, economics and art.

McCarty earned a gold medal and $100 in essay. He was asked to read his essay to the audience during the awards ceremony. He also received a silver medal in language and literature and a bronze medal in math.

Parrish won silver medals in art and music and a bronze medal in language and literature.

Tyson was awarded a gold medal and $100 in Super Quiz.

Grimes earned a silver medal in interview.

Steve Browning is the YHS Academic Decathlon coach.

Williams case orders schools to meet mandates

Williams v. State of California is a statewide class action lawsuit about Calif-ornia’s duty to provide every public school student with instructional materials, safe and decent school facilities, and qualified teachers.
After four years of litigation, the parties in the case reached a Settlement Agree-ment on August 13, 2004.

The Settlement Agreement provides for a package of legislative proposals designed to ensure that all students will have books in specified subjects and that their schools will be clean and in safe condition.

The legislation also takes steps toward assuring that children have qualified teachers. The California legislature has already passed statutes implementing the settlement and the new laws will begin taking effect during the current school year.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Peter J. Busch will decide whether to approve the settlement at a hearing in San Francisco on March 23, 2005 at 9 a.m.

If the court approves the settlement, some lawsuits brought over the next four years by students, parents, and teachers may be prohibited.

People may submit written comments to the court regarding this settlement and they can appear in court to testify at the hearing. For more information about this class action and the March 23 court hearing and to get a complete copy of plaintiffs’ Notice of Settlement and other related documents, go to www.decentschools.org (Outside Source) or call the toll-free information line, 1-877-532-2533.

A copy of the full settlement notice is available upon request through the Yosemite Joint Union High School District office or the Coarse-gold Union School District office.

Calendar change for Coarsegold School students

The original Coarsegold School calendar published in the Parent/Student handbook has been revised.

According to Principal Randy Haggard, the following changes are in place:
Monday, February 21, is a school day. It had originally been scheduled as a non-school day for students.

There will not be school Monday, February 28, for students. That will be a teacher training day.

Use YHS pick-up, drop-off area

Several weeks ago a Yosemite High student was hit by a vehicle while crossing Road 427; there were no serious injuries.

However, the incident has prompted YHS Principal Steve Raupp to “strongly recommend” to parents that they pick-up and drop-off their students in the parking area provided at the front of the campus.

“This parking area is off the main road and provides a safe place for students getting in and out of vehicles,” he says.

“Road 427 is extremely congested at the beginning and end of the school day and we ask that parents do not drop-off or pick-up students on the main roadway,” Raupp says.

CONSUELO MERCIER
Yosemite High School Interact Treasurer Karras Blate is shown presenting a check to Liane Rausch of the Children’s Museum of the Sierra. The check is for recycled cards interact members sold over the holidays. To Blate’s left is Interact member Ricsie Hernandez. SPICE (Seniors Participating In Community Education) volunteers have recycled greeting cards since 1994. The supplies are purchased by the YHS Interact Club and the recycled cards are sold mostly at the Children’s Museum. SPICE volunteers pictured are Ginna Busto, John Busto, Lucy Arata, Donna Downing, Marie Mellon, Joyce Russell and Carlene Hill.

Romeo and Juliet plays March 3-5

Lesley MacDonald (lying) plays Juliet in the YHS production of Romeo and Juliet to be held March 3, 4 and 5. Paige Turpen (kneeling) plays Lady Capulet; Kim Usher (standing) is the nurse and Sean Ratchford (standing) is Capulet.

The Yosemite High School Drama Department will present Romeo and Juliet in the new Performing Arts Center March 3, 4 and 5.

Curtain time is 7 p.m. each day with a matinee at 2 p.m. March 5.

Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students and children.

According to drama instructor Lars Thorson, “Our version of Romeo and Juliet is set in a suburban tract not unlike Fresno / Clovis. It is modern dress and features contemporary music.”

He says they have not changed Shakespeare’s language in any way but have cut the dialogue for time’s sake.

“Our goal is to collide Elizabethan language with our modern world. I also wanted to choose an era and music that the students could relate to,” Thorson said.

He said they are excited about the new theater. “It represents a huge advancement for our school and a great resource for the mountain community,” he said.

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