WHAT IS "HOMECOMING"? 

What Gunn Events are Planned and Why Should You Care?

Homecoming is a long-standing tradition at many American high schools and colleges. It is a celebration of the school community and is a chance for current students to join with returning alumni and the rest of the school community to develop "school spirit" and camaraderie.

Here are two of many links to a full description of the American Homecoming tradition:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homecoming

http://prom.about.com/od/formalfaq/qt/What-Is-Homecoming.htm 

Each year, Gunn High School plans an entire week of events to bring students together to get to know each other, have fun, and develop a sense of belonging to the Gunn community. Homecoming week is organized primarily by the Gunn Student Activities Center (Lisa Hall, director) with help from the student leaders of each class (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior Student Councils). Staff and teachers try to reduce the workload during that time, and many take part in the games and events themselves.

This year, Homecoming week is the week of October 19 and ends with the dance on Saturday October 24. The theme this year is “The Happiest Week on Earth“; a full list of events follows, but highlights include:

• Competitions between the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior classes held daily at brunch and lunch;
• Students and staff will dress up in different costumes every day;
• Night Rally: Thursday, October 22nd, is the climax of the week, with float stuffing (2-7:00pm), and the fantastic Night Rally at 8 pm in the Titan Gym, with doors opening at 7:45pm. Tickets are required for everyone.  Please watch for school announcements to know when they go on sale.  
• Dance: Saturday 24, semi-formal. Date not needed! (Dress code enforced! page 26 of the student handbook: http://gunn.pausd.org/sites/default/files/15-16%20Gunn%20Handbook.pdf)
• Boys attire: Khakis, button-down shirt, with or without tie
• Girls attire: dress but floor-length isn't necessary

For a full description of all the games and events planned, go to the Gunn Website ("For Students" tab, "Student Activities", "Campus Events"): https://sites.google.com/site/gunnstudentactivities/homecoming-week

Homecoming events are communicated broadly and frequently to all the students, in the hopes that each and every student will find an activity that appeals to them. Even if a student does something easy and uncomplicated - like watch the competitive games, dress-up with their class theme, or attend the rally (a favorite, this is when the Air Band contest happens!), come to the football game, or just affix one or two tissue-paper balls to the class float - they are almost assuredly going to experience "school spirit" and feel a part of the community - which is the goal!

According to Ms. Hall, the "top 5" events she suggests students take part in:

• "Stuff a Bench" game
• Help build/stuff their class float
• Attend and watch the night rally
• Go to Friday's football game and see the class floats at half time
• Attend the semi-formal dance on Saturday

Encourage your student to attend any all activities, even if "ironically". They will be glad they did!

If you have any questions, please contact Lisa Hall: lhall@pausd.org.

GO GUNN TITANS!!

Can I take Hebrew as my foreign language?

If you are interested in taking Hebrew as your foreign language or continuing middle school studies, please come and join us at the Beged Kefet Hebrew Language Community School Open House

Thursday, May 21, 7:30 pm  (room E104)

The school is fully recognized and the grades appear on the official Gunn transcript. Meet the teachers; learn about our curriculum and get to know the school community. We would love to see you there!

For more information  or questions please contact Merav Steinberger-Arnold, Head of Beged Kefet Hebrew Language Community School at msteinberger@paloaltojcc.org or (650) 223-8635.

Not In Our Schools Week - Gunn Presents The Mask You Live In

The Mask You Live In follows boys and young men as they struggle to stay true to themselves while negotiating America’s narrow definition of masculinity.

Pressured by the media, their peer group, and even the adults in their lives, the protagonists confront messages encouraging them to disconnect from their emotions, devalue authentic friendships, objectify and degrade women, and resolve conflicts through violence. These gender stereotypes interconnect with race, class, and circumstance, creating a maze of identity issues boys and young men must navigate to become “real” men.

Experts in neuroscience, psychology, sociology, sports, education, and media also weigh in, offering empirical evidence of the “boy crisis” and tactics to combat it. The Mask You Live In ultimately illustrates how we, as a society, can raise a healthier generation of boys and young men.

Join us for this screening April 16th at 6PM, which will be followed by a moderated discussion by Dr. Jerrold Shapiro.  This film is not rated and contains sensitive topics; we recommend the attendance to be upperclassmen and adults only. (View the trailer here)

Admission is free, though we encourage attendees to bring a donation of canned food that will benefit a local food bank. Reserve your tickets on eventbrite.

Bike Repair Station at Gunn!

Over 800 people bicycle to Gunn each school day. Often these bicyclists need minor repairs of flat tires or loose seats, chains, and cables. 

This summer Ian Cramer (Gunn class of 2015) installed a do-it-yourself bike repair and pump station at Gunn for his Eagle Scout project. Ian raised $1,500 for the project from sponsors, including Gunn PTSA Traffic Safety and the Gunn 2015 Social Entrepreneurs, AJTutoring, Mike’s Bikes and Paradigm Counsel, among others. 

You can find the Bike Fixtation in the covered hallway in the Music Building P. The station includes a hex key set, Torx T-25, steel core tire levers, adjustable wrench, cone wrench, Phillips & standard screwdrivers, and tire pump. If you don’t know what those tools are, no worries. The station also includes smart phone links to videos and pictures with instructions on how to make minor repairs.

The Green Energy Innovation Club Speaker Night

The Green Energy Innovation Club at Gunn High School will be hosting a green innovation speaker night on Tuesday, April 29, at 7:00 pm with renowned innovators, leaders, educators, and students to spread awareness of our changing environment and how today's technology and creative minds can save the world.

Visit greeninnovation.strikingly.com for more information on speakers.

Featuring: Stanford University Professor Mark Z. Jacobson with breakthrough discoveries in atmosphere energy, Paul Kephart, founder of Rana Creek Living Architecture and the living roof architect of the California Academy of Sciences, David Kaneda, the managing principal of Integral Group that designs Net Zero Energy green buildings, Ron Freund, founder of Plug in America and Electric Auto Association, and Tom Kelly, founder of KyotoUSA and the HELiOS project that hopes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption by installing photovoltaic systems in schools, fellow students and faculty at Gunn, PALY, and PAUSD hope to raise awareness of climate change and clean energy and how every one of us can conserve energy by understanding energy resources, solar applications, and other green energy technologies.

Any more questions? Email greenenergytitans@gmail.com.

Meet Gunn @ Your Service’s 2014 Social Entrepreneurs!

Congratulations to 15 inspiring Gunn students who, with over 330 others on campus, are turning innovative ideas into extraordinary projects to make our world - nearby and far away - a better place:

Sophomores:

Samia Islam will use her Gunn Grant to purchase an Android tablet that she will load with English and math videos she creates in Bengali for the students at Utsho, a boarding school for underprivileged children of single working mothers in Bangladesh, and to raise awareness about their situation. [Education-Bangladesh] 

Micah Roschelle’s Gunn @ Your Service micro-grant will be used to purchase Folic Acid and Hemoxide that she will deliver to doctors and clinics in Cameroon working to prevent Sickle Cell Anemia, a disease which affects 1 in 4 West Africans and is fatal to 80% of children afflicted with the disease. The vitamins will be free. [Health - Cameroon] 

Eleanor Su will use her Gunn Grant to buy ingredients for bake sales that will generate funds her Schools for Africa Fund will use to build a school in Sierra Leone and help provide epilepsy treatment. This is the second year a Gunn Grant has been awarded to this project. [Education/Health-Sierra Leone] 

Rick Wytmar’s Gunn Grant will be used to purchase all the materials needed to build a permanent message board to help the Ohlone Elementary School farm supervisor communicate the farm’s daily needs to teachers and students. [Education/Sustainability – Palo Alto] 

Justin Yang will use his Gunn micro-grant to build the solar heating component of the Cluck Bucket, a solar-powered egg incubator to combat malnutrition and enable economic opportunities in developing countries. [Applied Technology/Health/Economic Development-International]

Juniors:

Gabriel Alon’s micro-grant will cover the cost of printing postcards created by Gunn photography students for others to fill out expressing their positive feelings toward Gunn and Palo Alto to counter negativity that they’ve heard. These cards will be sent to the community and were inspired by a Gunn TedX speaker who started a similar campaign in San Francisco to alter perceptions and break down barriers. [Awareness – Palo Alto] 

Ian Cramer’s Gunn Grant will offset the substantial cost of materials to build a fully-stocked “fix-it” station that Gunn’s 800+ daily bike commuters can use to maintain and repair their bikes and promote the health and environmental benefits of biking. [Environment/Health - Gunn High School] 

Aitan Grossman’s Gunn Grant will be used to purchase materials needed to build a working prototype of his energy-saving regenerative bicycle brake that gives riders a boost to encourage people to select biking as their transportation mode of choice worldwide. [Applied Technology/Environment/Health - International] 

Irene Jeong’s Gunn Grant will be used to buy sheet music and accessories, rent instruments, and pay for instrument repair for low-income music students attending Gunn Music @ Costano classes taught by Gunn students in East Palo Alto. The Music @ Costano program was started six years ago by two Gunn students. This is the fourth year that a Gunn Grant has been awarded to this project. [Education-East Palo] 

Auston Lee will use his Gunn Grant to purchase math manipulatives and games for Buddies4Math, a math program started by a Gunn student in 2010. Buddies4Math student volunteers teach at Mountain View’s Castro Elementary School. This is Gunn @ Your Service’s second year supporting this project. www.buddies4math.blogspot.com [Education-Mountain View] 

Minku Lee’s Gunn Grant will be used to purchase musical instruments and pay for printing music for homeless East Palo Alto students living in the InnVision shelter who have not yet been exposed to music instruction. [Education-East Palo Alto] 

Klaire Tan’s micro-grant will be used to publish East Palo Alto middle school students’ work written in her after-school writing and journalism workshops and to cover student transportation costs to places and organizations that they are writing about. [Education – East Palo Alto] 

Leland Wei’s Gunn @ Your Service micro-grant will be used to purchase materials needed to build guards to protect plants and make signs for the Gamble Garden. This is Leland’s second Gunn Grant. [Environment-Palo Alto] 

Rachel Wu and Tony Zunino will use a Gunn Grant to purchase supplies for and promote Gunn students’ Bay Area Youth in Computer Science project. Gunn BAYCS volunteers create computer science curriculum which they teach to middle and high school students. This is the second year Gunn @ Your Service has supported this project. [Education-Palo Alto] 

Gunn @ Your Service is exceptionally proud to be able to support all of these outstanding efforts! 

Lauren Janov, President, Gunn @ Your Service

http://gunnatyourservice.org/