19900 Bastanchury Road * Yorba Linda, CA * 92886 * 714.986.7500

Inside this

Issue of the

Pony Express:

P.2

—Mustang U

—Principal Flynn

P.3

—Career Day

—Parent Ed

P.4

—Student Leaders

P.5

—Photos

P.6

—Support YLHS

P.7

—H.S.A Awards

—Reflections

P.8

—Recap of ‘14-15

Editor: Laurie Decuyper

Page 1 Fall 2015 ● Volume 6 , Issue 1 ● YLHS ● www.ylhs.org

PTSA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE—Sondia Buscaino

Welcome to all of our YLHS families. You truly are at a wonderful school with fantastic teachers, administrators, student leaders and numerous opportunities for your student to get in-volved! The YLHS PTSA welcomes you to another year filled with many enriching events for both you and your students.

We have a strong group of 41 dedicated Board Members working on all of our PTSA programs and currently, 906 of you have joined the YLHS PTSA – that is a fabulous show of commitment! Last year our PTSA won the 4th District Outstanding Secondary Unit Award, chosen from over 500 middle and high schools in all of OC and part of LA County. We also received an award for the Highest Membership in our PYLUSD District! Our year started off with a bang, organizing Back to School Registration Week. Chairs Regina Bernabe and Tammy Brubaker did a wonderful job. Also, we welcomed back our hard working teachers with a Back to School Teacher Luncheon. Our Hospitality Team of Sue Weston and Raquel Quast hosted this event, making it special! A big thank you to Joey Friesen and Shannon Colton for providing welcoming snacks at our PTSA table at Back to School Night!

So what does a High School PTSA do for YLHS Parents and their Students? We host a fabulous Career Day, where 55 speakers come to present to every single one of our students. Your stu-dent will choose their top 3 favorites, from cosmetology, accounting, medical, technical, legal, insurance, culinary, and even a few Hollywood actors come by, to name a few. This year our Career Day is on November 18th.

Our Mustang University program has grown every year – Kristen You has lined up a full schedule of seminars on “How to Write a College Essay”, Financial Aid night, and opportunities to take Mock SAT tests to better prepare your students for the college process.

Expanded this year is our Parent Education Program headed by Barb Buckley and Jamie Osorio. We will be offer-ing events such as CPR and First Aid Training, Internet Safety, Safe Teen Driving Seminars and Self-Defense work-shops. Our first event is on October 5th and is a Heartsaver CPR & AED Certification Course.

Academic Mustang Achievement Awards – where students with a 4.0 or higher GPA receive a special honor and ceremony. This past year we honored 80 of our freshmen. This event is chaired by Kimberly Dole and Lynda Wynn and takes place in the spring.

We also have our Reflections program where our students submit original works of art in six different categories and

can proceed to District and National levels. Entries are due to our Reflections Chair, Helen Ohirko on October 16th.

Student of the Month program where our YLHS teachers select students each month to be recognized. This event is

chaired by Maya Sturges.

Gifting to the School—Last year our PTSA equipped every room with Emergency Backpacks and gifted to the school needed lunch benches, money to maintain the website, gifts to YLHS Library, to our Advanced Video Production team, and to various other school needs and to support all of our PTSA sponsored programs! Janis Heckel, Melinda Shank and Marnie Jenican run our PTSA Student Leadership Team of 130 students who are actively involved with leadership on campus. They meet once a month after school, preparing teacher treats, hosting speakers for Career Day, preparing 120 presents for Kinsman Project foster kids, leading Mustang Pride Day and many other projects. Thank you for all your support and we look forward to seeing you at all of our events! PTSA is the only parent group on campus who works for the benefit of ALL students at YLHS. If you have not already joined the PTSA, please consider doing so. Our membership dues of $16.00 are our primary fundraiser and enable us to provide activities like those listed above. If you would like to join, please contact one of our Membership Chairs, Carolina State, Maria Toledo or Victoria Farer (info on website) or stop by the office and pick up a Membership envelope.

Page 2 Fall 2015 ● Volume 6, Issue 1 ●

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

—Dave Flynn

Mustang Families -

Welcome to Yorba Linda High School, home of the Mustangs, and the

2015-16 school year!

We are excited to open our doors to over 1800 students this year and a

full range of academic and co-curricular courses and activities.

Each year we work to add new course offerings that your students, coun-

selors and teachers would like to add to enrich the YLHS experience.

New course offerings for 2015-16 include Advanced Placement Human

Geography, Business Fundamentals, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Busi-

ness Applications and Information Technology

Applications. Again this year, will continue to offer after school tutoring in

Math, Language Arts, Science and World

Languages.

We are very proud of our student academic performance on SAT exams,

scoring 164 points above the national average, and Advanced Placement

College Board tests with a 91% pass rate for 928 exams.

We look forward to another very successful year as your 2015 California

State Gold Ribbon School.

—Go Mustangs!

Mustang University

Mustang University provides educational sessions for both parents and students, to better help prepare your student for the college admissions process.

On September 19th we had our first Mustang U event and had 50 students take the new Mock PSAT. Our next event is on October 7th where we will host a “Senior Col-lege Night” and the following week on October 14th we will have a great speaker and the topic is “How to Write a College Essay.”

Please see our schedule below, and contact Kristen You at ylhsptsamu@gmail.com with any questions.

Thank you and wishing you and your student a terrific year!

Page 3 Fall 2015 ● Volume 6, Issue 1

Career Day

Career Day is Fast Approaching and We Are Still in Need of Speakers! Career day is a fun, impactful and educational morning that the PTSA organizes for the entire student body. There are 3 sessions, each lasting 30 minutes (20 min presentation and time for a 10 min discussion). The students choose which career interests them and they rotate to their selections, the career speakers remain in the same classroom. We are always in need of speakers so if you have a profession that you are passionate about and willing to share with our students, please contact one of our Career Day Chairs: Tammy Brubaker tbrubaker97@yahoo.com, Jennifer Johnson or Shannon Paradzick; more info is on our PTSA website (YLHS main page, then select Parents, then PTSA). The date is Wednesday, November 18th from approximately 8:30 AM until noon - lunch is provided and it is a great atmosphere of learning and fun amongst students and career professionals. We look forward to another great year! Career Day Co - Chairs

This PTSA sponsored program started last year with a few events and has been expanded this year to 7

events to educate our parents, students and basically anyone who wants to attend. These topics are important and relevant in today's society. See our website for more information.

PTSA STUDENT LEADERSHIP

Page 4 Fall 2015 ● Volume 6, Issue 1 ●

The Year In Review by Jace Jenican 2015

The purpose of the PTSA Student Leadership Group is to make a positive difference in our school, community and world through philanthropic endeavors while learning and being leaders. September saw our most success-ful membership drive in history with over 130 members! All our membership activities were overseen by Rachel Stumpf and it was a huge job with such a large group.

Our holiday service project was selecting gifts and essentials for teenagers in foster care. Led by Team Leaders Sarah Stumpf and Deborah You, we partnered with Kinship Center, an Orange County non-profit organization that handles challenging foster care placements and Crittenton Family Services. All PTSA Leadership mem-bers “adopted” a foster child and purchased a Holiday Gift for them to receive.

Our major on-campus event was the planning and organization of Mustang Pride Day! This campus wide pro-ject was led by Team Leader Corina Deiters and a hardworking planning group including Gabi Moussa, Sarah Heckel, Kaela Braseny, Connie Huang, Nick Bui, Steven Chuang, and Kelsey Cooper. Held in March, over 225 students participated in beautifying our school by raking, weeding and cleaning the entire grounds.

Community Service did not stop there! Our membership supported many other events by providing volunteers at Taking Care of Business, Back to School Night, Emergency Backpacks, Mustang Madness, Career Day, and the 8

th Grade Round-Up. All of community service would not have run so smoothly without the extra efforts of

Vice President Sarah Chen.

Hospitality, led by Liz Tipping, planned and coordinated monthly Treat Days for the entire high school staff. We provided a variety of goodies including Halloween Refreshments, Holiday Cookie Day, Valentine's Cupcake Day, St. Patrick's Day Bags of Gold and a delicious breakfast for Teacher Appreciation Week. The Breakfast was headed up by Team Leaders Kayla Amini and Stephanie Zhang.

We are proud to announce that our membership contributed 3,623 hours of Community Service for 2014-2015!

Congratulations to the 2015-2016 YLHS PTSA Student Leadership Officers

& Committee Chairs!

Officers President Evelyn Chan Executive VP Brooke Gagnon 1st VP-Community Service Marissa Stinnett 2nd VP-Membership Georgia Wood 3rd Co-VP Hospitality Lily Rajee 3rd Co-VP Hospitality Sidney Tran Recording Secretary Sarah Stumpf Corresponding Secretary Aarti Tandon Committee Chairs Pride Day Nicole Truong Holiday Service Project Daania Kalam & Stephanie Zhang Teacher Holiday Cookie Day Zainab Naqvi Teacher Appreciation Breakfast Mikayla Buscaino & Sarah Heckel Emergency Preparedness Daniel Balducci & Gabi Moussa Shamrock N Run Hannah Flink Valentine's Teacher Cupcake Day Kulsoom Naqvi PTSA Student Leadership students making a positive

difference in our school and community

Page 5 Fall 2015 ● Volume 6, Issue 1 ●

PTSA STUDENT LEADERSHIP at REGISTRATION

TEACHERS’ WELCOME BACK LUNCHEON CAMP THEME

PRINCIPAL FLYNN HONORING TERRY KERANS AS

SHE LEAVES FOR A PROMOTION TO THE DISTRICT PTSAs RAQUEL

QUAST, SONDIA

BUSCAINO AND

SUE WESTON

JACOB BRUBAKER, GIANA

BORELLI, TYLER DUGGAN AND

MIRANDA PADILLA SERVING

TREATS AT FRESHMAN

ORIENTATION

ENJOYING THE S’MORES AT

THE DESSERT TABLE

MANY OF THE PTSA BOARD

MEMBERS

Page 6 Fall 2015 ● Volume 6, Issue 1 ●

VOLUNTEERS

If you would like to Volunteer, there are many opportunities available from bringing cookies, to helping at Mustang Pride Day, or helping to proctor tests, etc. Before, afterschool, and weekend opportunities are available. Please contact MaryAnn Richardson, our Volunteer Chair and let us know your interests.

BOOSTERS/

PARENTS

Save the Date: March 19, 2016

for the next BIG fundraising oppor-

tunity with Fairway Ford. YLHS will

be

partnering with Fairway Ford to

bring “Drive One 4 UR School.”

Test drive a Ford at YLHS’s main

parking lot and Fairway Ford will

donate money to your Booster

Club or school club/org. of your

choice. The clubs must be regis-

tered prior to the event in order for

the money to be targeted to their

account.

Please consider if your club will

want to make some additional

money by selling spirit wear, food

etc. at this event.

Contact Chairperson Dawn Newsom

for more details (818) 422-8555.

Tickets cost $12 for children & students and $20 for adults. Tickets include com-plimentary Ice Cream Floats and a “Meet & Greet” with the The Alley Cats.

Tickets go on sale online on October 1 at

5:00PM through our web site

reach4pylusd.org.

The mission of the R.E.A.C.H.

Foundation is to seek, explore and

develop educational experiences and

opportunities that help prepare our

students in the PYLS to become

successful 21st Century Learners.

REACH will be in the Heritage Day

Parade on Oct 10th. March with us in

the parade or stop by for some delicious

food from Craftsman Woodfire Pizza!!

We are also planning a fantastic family

event......Oct. 25th!!

A Blast from the Past…As

PYLUSD Brings Fourth the

Music! This family concert will be held

at the PAC on Sunday,

October 25, from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m., and

will directly benefit the Fourth Grade

Music Program.

The first act will feature our talented PYLUSD students, then after a brief intermission The Alley Cats – “America’s Premier Doo-Wop Group” will perform.

R.E.A.C.H

PTSA

Advocacy

PTA was formed as a child

advocacy organization, and today is

the largest and most influential vol-

unteer organization of its kind in

America. Together, we work to do

better for all our kids.

At the county, state, and national

levels, we take positions on,

advocate for, and even co-sponsor

legislation that affects children,

youth, and families. We safeguard

funding for education. We speak to

elected officials about the concerns

of our communities. And we inform

and educate the public about these

important issues.

If you would like to learn more about

what is current, please visit our

website under PTSA /Advocacy.

PTSA Honorary Service Awards 2015

Congratulations to all of the 2015 PTSA Service Award recipients

Each year PTA's and PTSA's across the nation recognize individuals who have distinguished themselves in volunteer service to the youth in our community and public schools. The following people received PTSA Service Awards during the Renaissance Rally on March 27, 2015:

Lisa Tully —AP US History, AD

Jamie Jauch— Vice Principle

David Salinas from Chick-Fil-A Yorba Linda

Susie Beatificato—Parent Volunteer

Kino Oaxaca —-Campus Supervisor & Boys Soccer Coach

Shea Runge —Activities Director

Denelle Kaminski —PTSA Board Member

Page 7 Fall 2015 ● Volume 6, Issue 1 ●

Student of the

Month

Each month our teachers are asked to select one student who they feel has improved or exceeded all expectations. This student doesn't have to be the best or the hardest working student but is worthy of recognition for his or her effort and attitude. Each recipient will receive letter of congratulations, a certificate and a small recognition token. PTSA is proud to work with teachers to sponsor a program to recognize these positive, respectful and responsible students. Check out our PTSA website for the list of current and past recipients.

..………...Year in Review………..…

“Let Your Imagination

Fly” Entries are due Oct. 16, 2015

Express this theme via:

Film

Photography

Dance

Literature

Music

Visual Arts—New this year will be 3D

visual Arts.

Multiple entries allowed. Please go to

the YLHS website under Parents/

PTSA/ reflection contest for the rules

and entry forms.

See next page for list of last year’s

winners.

AMAA Awards

The Academic Mustang Achievement Award is a program established by the PTSA of Yorba Linda High School to recognize the top scholars from Yorba Linda HS. Each

spring, the administration submits names of honorees to the PTSA. The criteria used for selection is based on a 4.0 or better grade point average or weighted 4.0 grade point av-

erage for those involved in honors or AP (Advanced Placement) classes.

The event was held at Friends Church on Monday, April 27th, 2015. Awardees were given both a certificate and a beautiful pin honoring their achievements. We were also joined by 5 PYLUSD School Board Members, high school staff, PTSA board members

and over 600 parents and students.

250 Yorba Linda High School Mustangs were awarded this academic award!

Ice Cream Fundraiser

Thank you to all the awesome volunteers that came out to help raise money for our PTSA. On May 30

th and 31

st Yorba Linda PTSA held a fundraiser at Bob’s Old Fashion

Ice Cream located in the Orange County Market Place Swap Meet. 100% of all proceeds went directly to Yorba Linda PTSA to help support PTSA Student Leadership, Teach and Staff Appreciation, Mustang University, Reflections, PTSA Scholarships, Honorary Ser-vice Awards, Emergency Prep Kits, Mustang Pride Day, Career Day, Spring Physicals,

Student Recognition Events & Registration Week.

It was a huge success and we look forward to participating again next year.

Page 8 Fall 2015 ● Volume 6, Issue 1 ●

PTSA 2014-15 President’s letter

Kristen You

Thanks to all of YOU, your PTSA provided:

53 Career Day speakers for 1,750 students,

12 Mustang University events,

75 Emergency Backpacks, one for every classroom,

CPR, 1st Aid and Internet/Drug Awareness Education,

750 hours of Campus beau-tification during Mus-tang Pride Day,

100+ Helpers for Registration, CAHSEE, Library, College Fair, Graduation Tickets and Schedule Distribution,

10 Delicious Staff/Teachers luncheons and treats,

250 Academic Mustang Achievement Awards,

5 Scholarships,

15 Student Leadership events,

7 Honorary Service Awards,

16 Reflections Participants,

250 Students of the Month, and more.

Together, our volunteers donated

5,615 service hours.

As this is my second and final year as President, I would also like to thank our 35 Faithful and

Hard working Board Mem-bers. We had a lot of fun, while

doing great things at YLHS.

Thank you also to Principal Flynn! He’s the captain of our YLHS ship, and has led us to

great success. Please welcome our new President, Sondia Buscaino.

Entries by Joshua Ball Seung-Hee Yoo, Rayah Shipiro, Heather Gammon (both en-tries), Kyra Stevens, Cheyenne Kotick and Mya Kough all placed within the Council

awards, in addition to the YLHS awards. Heather Gammon’s Literature entry, Green-house Effect, won 1

st place in Council and advanced to District!

Reflection Entries from Last Year and their Placements:

Justin E. Randall 12 1 Photography On the Outside Looking In

Joshua Ball 10 2 Photography Home Sweet Home

Sara April Jackson 9 3 Photography Stop to Look Around

Seung-Hee Yoo 11 1 Visual Arts Save the Earth

Rayah Shapiro 11 2 Visual Arts Creative Thoughts

Jae-Hee Yoo 10 3 Visual Arts Love the Earth

Heather Gammon 11 1 Literature Dying to be Thin

Heather Gammon 11 2 Literature Greenhouse Effect

Sara April Jackson 9 3 Literature The World Would be a Better . . .

Cheyenne Leigh Kotick 12 1 Dance Sweet Lips

Kyra Stevens 11 2 Dance Earth

Mya Kough 11 3 Dance Alice Meets Dorothy