Titan Talk
Henry M Gunn High School
About us
Email: mgordon@pausd.org
Website: https://gunn.pausd.org/
Location: 780 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, CA, USA
Phone: (650) 354-8200
October 4, 2020: Vol 4 Issue 7
Upcoming Events
Gunn Together: Period 1:
9th - 11th Grades: Wellness Presentations by Safe Space
12th Grade: League of Women Voters Presentations
Students should check into their 1st-period class for attendance and receive links. Students who have a 1st-period Prep should check Schoology after GT starts.
ELAC Meeting #2 Parents/Guardians of English learners, and of all other newcomers are invited to our second ELAC meeting. We will meet via Zoom on Wednesday, October 7, 2020, at 4:00 PM. Click on this link for more information.
Notable Dates:
October 9, 2020, End of First Quarter.
November 6, 2020, The second progress/warning notice period ends. Deadline for dropping a class and not having it appear on a transcript.
SELF (Social Emotional Learning and Functionality)
After multiple weeks of mostly individual and small-group check-ins, this week, we will return to some team-building activities that emphasize interaction and connection. Some mentors feel that it would be good to continue to focus on building relationships within their cohorts and spend more time with their students specifically, while others felt that it was a good time to interact with students from other grades and cohorts. We feel that it’s important to empower the mentors to make these choices based on their assessment of their students’ needs. This week's teambuilding is in line with our pivot this year towards increased opportunities for social interaction and connection, based on data we've received from the community about the current needs of our students.
Gunn Counseling
Gunn Counseling Parent Nights
In case you missed the 9th and 10th-grade presentations, here are the links to the presentations.
9th Grade Counseling Slide show from Parent Night (Unfortunately the 9th-grade video is unavailable)
10th Grade Counseling Parent Night Video
11th Grade Counseling Parent Night Video
12th Grade Counseling Parent Night Video
Counseling Quarterly Newsletters
Newsletters were sent out this past week. If you missed them, here are the links for each grade level.
Support for Gunn Families
If you are experiencing financial hardship as a result of COVID-19, please let your Gunn student's counselor know. If you are struggling to pay for college application fees or other college-related costs, please contact Linda Kirsch at lkirsch@pausd.org and Leighton Lang at llang@pausd.org. This is a very challenging time for some Gunn families, and the PTSA would like you to know that our community is here for you! We are all in this together and together we will make it through.
CSU Application Workshop October 8 @ 11:40 am. Hosted by an Admissions rep from San Jose State University.
- Gunn’s Counseling Department
The Wellness Center:
Gunn Wellness Center
From October 5th through October 9, the Wellness Center is hosting our first ever Virtual Wellness Week. Community organizations from around Santa Clara and San Mateo County will be doing presentations and workshops to highlight resources, information, and opportunities to get involved that promote student mental health and wellbeing. ALL are invited! For more info and links to join us online click HERE!
Coming Soon
October 20, 2020 @ 6:30PM
Coping with Constant Change and Uncertainty
In this time of constant change, it's important to develop some coping strategies so that you can stay resilient during these anxiety-filled times. Attend this webinar to learn some valuable strategies that you can use as you cope with the constant change and anxiety in your life right now. Presented by Patrice Crisostomo, Ph.D., Clinical Program Manager, and Licensed Psychologist at CHC and Cara DiClemente, MA, Doctoral Psychology Intern at CHC.
For more info and to register, CLICK HERE
Mindful Minute
Ever feel guilty about using downtime to do nothing productive? Well, maybe that is okay! Take 10 minutes to read and think about this article from the New York Times about why it's important to stop being so busy all the time!
Sources of Strength
Sources of Strength is a national strength-building suicide prevention program designed to help students spread messages of Hope, Help, and Strength. Past and new participants are welcome. Check out our Gunn Sources of Strength video: tinyurl.com/GSOSvideo
If you would like to get Remind notices of coming events, text @hmghs to 81010. Look forward to a late fall training and following activities, TBD.
ROCK (Reach Out Care Know)
Check out a one-minute video highlighting some of what ROCK does.
ROCK has a few exciting projects in the works.
- socially distanced yoga
- painting rocks
- social media campaigns
- SELF class presentations
- thank you campaign
e-mail: rockatgunn@gmail.com
web: rockatgunn.com
Instagram: @rockatgunn
Student Activities
Student Activities Purchase Pick Up: Buy some Gunn Gear on the web-store and come by the Student Activities Center at Gunn on Wednesdays and Fridays from 1:00 - 4:00 pm to pick up! Be sure to bring proof of purchase/ receipt.
Yearbook Things:
- Order a Senior Baby Ad for this year’s Yearbook! Link to Baby Ad Form Deadline is 10/30.
- Miss out on purchasing a 2019-2020 Yearbook? There are still some available! Purchase at the following link: https://tinyurl.com/19-20GunnYearbook
Seniors Shirts - Pick up in the SAC: If you ordered a senior shirt but missed the Pick Up Days, you can come by the Student Activities Center on Wednesdays or Fridays from 1-4 pm to pick up your order!
College and Career
SENIORS: CSU is now open and closes this year on DEC 4th. Reminder: UC is test blind at CAL, UCI, UCSC and UCSB the rest are test optional. Get those essays polished. Look for postings saying when there are info sessions on filling out your applications: Oct 8 sign in to Naviance and SJSU will be running a session. Counseling will posting dates for essay, UC and Common App. Time to nudge mom and dad to get working on FAFSA. Questions—send an e-mail to Mr Lang.
New on Naviance: Find you fit leads to “College Events” and there are a huge number of colleges posting events filled with information.
Just because someone got into Harvard or Stanford and runs a program that implies, we did it so work with us…can imply they have insider info when this is simply a business. Applying to college means you are the center of the process and working with folks who understand more than the brand name of an institution is where you will get the most reliable assistance.
JUNIORS: PSAT update—it might be January. If we know the real date and details, you will hear for sure. CSU has been clear they are test-optional this year but cautious to say what will happen next year and as two locations actually said they would want testing…do not expect CSU to follow the UC pattern. There is the new head of the CSU system, James Castro, former president of Fresno State and he is the first Mexican American to hold this high post. If you want your Junior appointment this semester, I am now booking into November and December…please make contact. I have some times available on weekends and holidays for those who do not have a prep just let me know as spaces are limited.
GENERAL INFO:
Common Ground Speaker series—Oct 8 on From Chaos to Calm—will focus on resiliency. Anyone who wants notes from the last event: Pandemic Impact…contact me at lkirsch@pausd.org
CSU for students week is Oct 5-9 www.calstate.edu/apply/csuweek
SJSU on OCT 8 at 11:40 will provide an application workshop, via Naviance
NACACFAIRS.org—check it out
Virtualcollegefairs.org—another source
Sciences PO via UC Berkeley will be OCT 8 at 12:15 see naviance. This is a dual enrollment event—you do two years in France and 2 years at UCB
Youth and Goverment: for students who want to be involved with debate etc see www.calymca.org or call 916-287-9622
COLLEGEWISE—Runway—many college tools offered free by PAUSD, mentioned by Don Austin. collegewiserunway.thinkific.com
The Water Valley wants a student on their board…good for kids with environmental interests. https://delivr.com/youthcommision2v2v4 Due Oct 2
Harvard WeCode 2020 conference. SAT, Oct 10 for 10-3:30 for women in stem. Harvardwecode.com
WOWIT Sat Oct 10 8:30-12:30 for women in tech. polytechnic.purdue.edu/summer-diversity-camps/wowit-camp-virtual
CLAIMIT Sat Oct 17 8:30-12:30 is for leadership and advanced innovation for majors in tech. Purdue again same as above but end with claim it-camp-virtual
NEW COLLEGE PLANNING COURSES & TOOLS FOR SECONDARY STUDENTS
As part of our ongoing commitment to ensure PAUSD families have multiple points of access to timely information, Collegewise has provided a free series of college planning programs and resources, called “Runway.” This series provides carefully structured resources to give students and parents the tips, tools, and timelines they need to reach their college goals in 2020. Program offerings are specific to high school grade levels.
When students sign up for “Runway,” they will have access to content and videos designed for you and your family that cover topics including:
- College list building
- Finding good value colleges
- Overview of types of colleges
- Personal statement brainstorming and writing
- Effective Common App completion
- Financial aid applications
- Fee waivers overview
- UC application guidance
Students in grades 9-11: You’ll have access to an on-demand video library, access to a monthly newsletter, and a variety of guides covering everything from STEM programs to understanding the demands of The Common App. Sign up for the program here.
“Runway” provides a valuable supplement to the more specific information available from counselors and college advisors at each high school. Here are the links to the resources available at Gunn. For more information, please review the counseling/guidance web pages, under Campus Life, on the schools’ websites: https://gunn.pausd.org/.
Gunn Affiliated Associations
PTSA
The Gunn PTSA supports Gunn high school in many ways such as teacher grants, student activities, fundraising, and organizing volunteers. Please visit the Gunn PTSA website for more information.
Palo Alto Partners in Education
Partners in Education (PiE): PiE raises money from parents and the community to provide all Palo Alto Unified School District students an educational experience beyond what is possible with public funding. The 2020-2021 fundraising campaign has begun. See here what PiE funds for Gunn.
Gunn Foundation
The Gunn Foundation grants need-based scholarships to graduating Gunn seniors in our community. Scholarships fund college expenses like deposits, textbooks, fees, and technology needed for distanced learning. Gunn Foundation scholarships can make a huge difference in the future of a Gunn student.