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
March 15, 2020: Vol 3 Issue 26
Gunn and The Superintendent's Update Regarding Coronavirus from March 13, 2020
Tomorrow, Monday March 16th, Gunn High School is closed. Students can pick up essential items and personal belongings from PE lockers, books, and book bags, and musical instruments, pick up computers from the Tech office if necessary. Students may not socialize or congregate on campus. Campus will remain closed and off limits from Tuesday, March 17 until at least the morning of Monday, April 13th. Students should check Schoology regularly for Flexible Learning Options posted by their teachers.
Please read PAUSD's Superintendent Don Austin's message regarding Coronavirus.
CAASPP testing has been postponed until late April or early May, due to the continuing concerns regarding COVID-19.
The Wellness Center:
At Gunn, we have had the privilege of serving students every day at the Wellness Center and supporting them in taking healthy space away from the stress of school, providing tea and snacks for a nice pick-me-up, and delivering ongoing therapeutic services. We understand that with our schools closing, it can bring much uncertainty around the mental health services so many of our students access here at the Wellness Center every day. We will be working diligently on compiling available services to your families throughout our community. Please be on the lookout for an email to parents and caregivers regarding the mental health of our students and see how to support them outside of school during this closure. We will also be including a list of providers and organizations in the area who may be able to support our families during this closure.
Gunn Wellness this week hosted an interactive puzzle search this week during flex in honor of Women's History Month. Students were provided a crossword puzzle full of women's names from the Women's Hall of Fame and had to search around the outside of the new p-building to look for clues that would help fill out the puzzles. Some women the students learned about include: Madeleine Albright, Maya Angelou, Wilma Rudolph, Dorothea Dix, Harriet Tubman, Helen Keller, and so many more!
Coming Soon:
The Children's Health Council is continuing to offer parent education courses. In light of current concerns about COVID-19, they will be offering these courses online instead of in person so you can enjoy the material in the comfort and protection of your own home! They have a great selection of courses lined up for the rest of the month so we urge you to visit their calendar! More info about the modified online courses here!
Teen Therapy Groups:
Bay Area Clinica Associates has a couple of teen therapy groups opening up for the Spring. Themes this year include Dungeons and Dragons and Minecraft. Please check their website here for more info about these amazing groups and services!
Mindful Minute:
This year has already presented many challenges for families throughout the world. We understand that it can be challenging to navigate conversations with children and discern how much to share. Please take a couple minutes to read this article from the American Psychological Association about how to share difficult news with children.
Gunn Counseling
Counselors and teachers will be available through email to answer questions and concerns during normal school hours. Please contact your counselor or teacher through Schoology, or direct email. Counselors will not be checking phone messages regularly.
Here are the latest newsletters from the counselling department.
9th Grade Counseling Newsletter
10th Grade Counseling Newsletter
11th Grade Counseling Newsletter
College and Career
The Exploring College Options scheduled for April 26th has been cancelled.
The NACAC college fair scheduled for April 25th has been cancelled…they have cancelled all spring fairs, this experience will be available in Fall of 2020 and Gunn IS hosting the fair this year!
SAT has clear directions on its site listing what centers are closed and telling students what to do to sign up for an alternative. Please visit the sites of either SAT or ACT before assuming the testing will happen and get fresh information on what they want done to be admitted to the next open test option.
Seniors: most locations will not have admitted senior days this year. You can do video viewing, which not be the same as a visit, but if you have questions, when you get a letter or acceptance, you are likely to have contact information, so use it. If you need to consult more on this as we move towards May 1, please se your guidance counselor, Mr Lang or Mrs Kirsch as we are here to help. I know this is a hard decision to make sight unseen but keep track of all the places that said YES to you…that could be important for future use. This is going to be a difficult year for colleges in many ways, so feel free to make contact and get questions or concerns answered
Please note that the following events may have been canceled, Please contact organizers to see if events are rescheduled or happening.
If you need help finding a summer internship of volunteer work, we have materials from the Summer OPS night and new postings from folks that will be available in the C&CC area, please drop by. Talk with Linda Kirsch or Leighton Lang to get help as needed.
Silicon Valley Information Evening on Wednesday March 25th Study in the UK will be 5 PM and Applying to Cambridge will be 6:15 PM
Studying in the UK, and the other covering Applying to Cambridge for international students, both followed by a Q&A at Los Altos High School, who are kindly hosting. This event is open to students and parents who are interested in finding out more about the UK and/or the University of Cambridge – attendees can register for one or both sessions. I’d be grateful if you could advertise this to your student and parent networks. Attendees can book directly using this link: https://gecko.fm/fktdg.
Monday April 6 6:30 pm--- Boston U will be at the Westin in San Jose. Register bu.edu/admissions/visit-us/bu-in-your-area/
Wednesday April 29 : Community College Fair in the Gunn Library at 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM . Come meet with reps and learn about the California Promise option and transfer agreements they offer.
All are welcome.
Attention Junior Parents: There are a small number of you who have not responded to outreach to set appointments for this meeting with Linda Kirsch for Post HS discussion. We will now start setting appointments to meet with the student and let you know the date and time so that if you did want to attend you may come. If you know the is a better date or time, just reply to e-mail contact and we will adjust to meet your needs. This discussion provides valuable information that is specific to your student and what s/he wants to do after HS be is college, military, job. The C&CC has valuable information for the student and there are many new laws and regulations that have changed this year that needs to be discussed. All contact can be directed to lkirsch@pausd.org to facilitate a timely appointment. Come to the main office for a parking permit first then upstairs in the new yellow building for the appointment.
Student Activities
Grad Parties for Class of 2020 are still on. One week left for Early Bird Advance Registration deadline is Friday, March 20 for the Senior Picnic and Grad Night.
- To register: //tinyurl.com/GunnGradPartyForm
- FAQ about parties: //tinyurl.com/GunnGradPartyFAQ
- Donations to help students in need to attend parties: //tinyurl.com/GunnGradPartyDonations
- If any student needs financial aid, see their counselor.
- Email the Grad Night Committee: gunn.seniorparty@gmail.com
Senior Grad Gown Ordering - not sure if you ordered your cap and gown? Order online, over the phone, or through the mail (late fee may apply):
- Call to order at 1-800-JOSTENS
- Order online at www.jostens.com
- Cap & Gown Unit Only: https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/productDetail/1006004/Henry-Gunn-High-School/-/1245103532/CATALOG_REPOSITORY/Cap-and-Gown-Unit/1245103608/
PTSA
The Gunn PTSA supports Gunn highschool 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
Thank you to all that have supported Partners in Education (PiE). The donations to PiE continue to support many programs at Gunn, including our