KHSD NEWS5801 Sundale Avenue - Bakersfield, CA - 93309 - 661.827.3100 - www.kernhigh.org A Tradition of Excellence since 1893 June/July 2019

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2019 Superintendent’s First In Class Awards

It was a special evening for 118 Kern High School graduates as they were recognized for four years of hard work during the Superintendent’s First In Class Awards held on June 27, at the DoubleTree Hotel.

The award recipients from 18 comprehensive campuses were selected to receive a commemorative plaque and a $1,000 scholarship check for graduating with the highest grade point average.

“This accomplishment is one of the most remarkable feats in all of education. The competition for this award is extremely intense and demands excellence throughout a four-year gauntlet of increasingly rigorous mental, physical, and emotional challenges.” - Dr. Bryon Schaefer, KHSD Superintendent

All of the funding for the scholarships came from donations made by private individuals, companies, and organizations. The two largest sponsors were Chevron and Kern Schools Federal Credit Union. Other sponsors include S.C. Anderson, Inc., Louis and Sheryl Barbich, Solis Engineering, Inc., Ordiz Melby Architects, Inc., Bob Hampton, Jim Burke Ford, and Mendiburu Magic Foundation.

The Superintendent’s First In Class Awards began in 2006 and was held in the Kern High School District Board Room where 45 students were honored.

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Congratulations to the 2019 First In Class Award recipients:

Vaisakh Abhilash - Independence High SchoolAlexis Aguilar - Shafter High SchoolChristopher Aldaco - Golden Valley High SchoolVera Arenas - Highland High SchoolJoshua Aubin - Centennial High SchoolRichard Baal - Bakersfield High SchoolKristina Bacon - Stockdale High SchoolJared Bae - Stockdale High SchoolWilliam Ball - Liberty High SchoolGilleanne Barrios - Liberty High SchoolAlyssa Bell - Independence High SchoolSerena Bhakta - Liberty High SchoolMadison Blake - Frontier High SchoolMegan Borda - Liberty High SchoolMiguel Cabrera - Foothill High SchoolNayeli Camacho - Golden Valley High SchoolBrianna Camero - Ridgeview High SchoolClins Chacko - Frontier High SchoolAndrew Chaffee - Stockdale High SchoolClaire Champagne - Foothill High SchoolXinyu Chen - Stockdale High SchoolMacy Cholometes - Stockdale High SchoolBrayden Christensen - Liberty High SchoolSean Crowley - Bakersfield High SchoolRace Dalton - Centennial High SchoolFaith Daniel - Liberty High SchoolTanveer Dhaliwal - Centennial High SchoolPeter Diaz - Independence High SchoolMatthew Dietze - Frontier High SchoolRachel Dye - Stockdale High SchoolGarett Ellis - Centennial High SchoolEmma Erickson - Liberty High SchoolJuan Espinoza - Shafter High SchoolMariel Fuentes - Arvin High SchoolMadelyn Gaines - Liberty High SchoolJulia Gonzalez - East Bakersfield High SchoolBrett Gowling - Liberty High SchoolGage Green - Stockdale High SchoolJoshua Hacker - Stockdale High SchoolIvan Hernandez - Mira Monte High SchoolGuadalupe Herrera - Golden Valley High SchoolMadison Hoyt - Frontier High SchoolIsabel Iturriria - Bakersfield High SchoolNaomi-Grace Jennings - Stockdale High School Esther Collazo Jhonson - North High School Kelsey Jian - Stockdale High SchoolDorian Jimenez - Stockdale High SchoolAaryan Kapoor - Centennial High SchoolYasmin Kaur - Ridgeview High SchoolRegina Keil - Liberty High SchoolIsaac Kim - Stockdale High SchoolCarson King - Stockdale High SchoolKayla Ko - Stockdale High SchoolAlvaro Sebastian Chumpitaz Lavalle - Frontier High SchoolDavid Leaman - Stockdale High SchoolDaniel Liu - Stockdale High SchoolLeah Liu - Stockdale High SchoolJasmine Pacheco Lopez - Bakersfield High SchoolAmandeep Mander - Stockdale High School

Kyler Martinez - Shafter High SchoolSarah May - Stockdale High SchoolStephen McCoy - Liberty High SchoolKaitlyn McDonnell - Liberty High SchoolNichelle Medrano - Stockdale High SchoolGabriel Mendez - Ridgeview High SchoolAidan Meyer - Frontier High SchoolSamiha Molla - Centennial High SchoolLizeth Moran - East Bakersfield High SchoolMargaret Mosher - Liberty High SchoolAnusha Mubin - Stockdale High SchoolDarren Nguyen - Highland High SchoolMikhail Ocampo - Stockdale High SchoolNicholas Oosthuizen - Bakersfield High SchoolAshley Osorio-Zavala - West High SchoolAnnika Paterno - Stockdale High SchoolTimothy Peasha - Centennial High SchoolGiovanni Perez - Foothill High SchoolAlyssa Piang - Independence High SchoolJulia Pitter - Shafter High SchoolTomas Prieto - Liberty High SchoolDaniel Ramirez - Golden Valley High SchoolPayton Renz - Liberty High SchoolAndrew Reynoso - Centennial High SchoolLauren Rigby - Liberty High SchoolZachary Rigby - Liberty High SchoolMarco Rodriguez - Shafter High SchoolAlondra Roman - Ridgeview High School Elysa Romanini - Bakersfield High SchoolMichael Ross - Frontier High SchoolRosibell Salgado - East Bakersfield High SchoolRaegina Sanchez - Liberty High SchoolVictoria Santore-Tovar - Highland High SchoolDonya Sarrafian - Stockdale High SchoolJordan Shafer - Centennial High SchoolHarshil Shah - Stockdale High SchoolAngela Sierra - Frontier High SchoolKaranvir Singh - Golden Valley High SchoolMuskaan Singh - Stockdale High SchoolEesha Sohail - Stockdale High SchoolHaley Sprague - Centennial High SchoolJared Tholl - Independence High SchoolTanner Tito - Kern Valley High SchoolBenjamin Toenjes - Highland High SchoolRussel James Tolentino - Frontier High SchoolHayden Urmston - Frontier High SchoolJacob Valdez - Foothill High SchoolDiana Salinas Vargas - East Bakersfield High SchoolLilyana Villa - Shafter High SchoolKailey Wagoner - Liberty High SchoolJack Waite - Liberty High SchoolGinger Watson - Ridgeview High SchoolSabrina Weinman - South High SchoolJoshua Whittle - Stockdale High SchoolJustin Yatco - Liberty High SchoolVanessa Yeazel - Stockdale High SchoolHalle Young - Bakersfield High SchoolAdam Yu - Frontier High SchoolJacob Zeimet - Bakersfield High School

Giving Blood to Give Back

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Kern High School District employees rolled up their sleeves to give the gift of life during the 13th Annual Houchin Community-Wide Blood Drive, held at the District Office on June 18.

Over the course of a few hours, employees donated more than 6,000 units of blood. Houchin Community Blood Bank’s (HCBB) Community Development Account Manager, Stephanie Gibbons, said the donated units could help save over 18,000 lives in our community.

“I donate to help the community. Plus, if I ever need it, I would hope somebody would be able to donate for me.” - Lisa Barnett, KHSD Employee

The blood drive came at the perfect time, as Gibbons explained that typically the blood supply runs low during the summer months as many donors head off on vacation.

“High schools represent 20 percent of our blood supply during the school year, and to have the Kern High School District come in at the end of the high school season and be part of the Community-Wide Blood Drive is awesome.” - Stephanie Gibbons, Community Development Account Manager, HCBB

In addition to the District Blood Drive, Kern High School District students helped donated a total of 4,585 units of blood in the 2018-19 school year.

Flame of Hope

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The Kern High School District Police Department joined the Bakersfield Police Department in the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run for the Special Olympics. Officers carried the Flame of Hope through downtown Bakersfield on May 30. The Law Enforcement Torch Run is the largest public awareness vehicle and grassroots fundraiser, with more than 3,500 officers in Southern California championing acceptance and inclusion, according to the Special Olympics Southern California. From Bakersfield, the Flame of Hope made its way through several cities before arriving in Long Beach for the 2019 Special Olympics Southern California Games, which kicked off on June 8.

Students’ Skills put to the TestStudents showcased their skills on the national stage at the SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference, held in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 23-29. Fourteen Regional Occupational students and one Frontier High School student qualified in the California competition in April to represent Kern County.

KHSD students competed alongside more than 6,500 other career and technical education students in 103 different trade, technical, and leadership fields. In many competitions, students found themselves up against the clock, testing their skills in occupations such as electronics, computer-aided drafting, precision machining, medical, and culinary arts.

KHSD showed up strong, with Jackson Plivelich and Meagan Linder-Meeks winning the Silver medal in 3-D Animation, and Kalah Jordan Kohfield-Stout taking home the Bronze medal in Action Skills.

Congratulations Graduates!

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Congratulations go out to the 298 Kern High School District students who received their diplomas during the Summer Commencement Ceremony on July 12. The sound of cheers filled the Harvey Auditorium at Bakersfield High School as the graduates crossed the stage and get prepared to embark on their next adventure. Best of luck to the Class of 2019!

Lending a Helping HandAs the Ridgecrest community continues to recover from strong earthquakes and aftershocks that rocked the area in early July, Golden Valley High School (GVHS) students stepped in to help.

GVHS Police Activities League (PAL) members teamed up with the nonprofit organization Christmas for Seniors Kern County to assist with earthquake relief efforts. On July 13, the members made the nearly two-hour drive to the small desert community to deliver 30 cases of water, sundries, and clothing to seniors citizens affected by the quakes. They also helped residents move some of their belongings to a shelter and provided sandwiches for the community and volunteers.

GVHS PAL and Christmas for Seniors Kern County

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Perfect ScoreRishabh Bose, a 2019-2020 Stockdale High School senior, earned a perfect ACT score—a feat only two-tenths of one percent of students who take the test earn.

Bose took the test on June 8 and shortly after learned he had earned a top composite score of 36. According to ACT, which is a mission-driven nonprofit organization, in the U.S. high school graduating class of 2018, only 3,741 out of more than 1.9 million graduates who took the test earned a perfect score. The ACT consists of tests in English, mathematics, reading, and science.

Bose received a letter from the ACT CEO Marten Roorda, which stated, “Your achievement on the ACT is significant and rare. Your exceptional scores will provide any college or university with ample evidence of your readiness for the academic rigors that lie ahead.”

ACT scores are accepted by all major four-year colleges and universities across the U.S.

Summer Solar AcademyRishabh Bose

Thirty-two students from Independence and West High Schools spent a week at Bakersfield College learning hands-on about the solar industry. It was the fourth year that the Kern High School District has teamed up with SunPower for the annual Kern Solar Energy Academy.

The summer academy was a weeklong 40-hour project-based learning internship program held July 15-19. During the week, the students learned all about running their own solar company, including how to market, design, and finance a residential solar electric project. At the end of the academy, the students delivered their business proposal to a panel of judges while family members were invited to watch.

The goal of the academy is for students to build their resume, strengthen professional skills, meet with solar energy professionals in our community, learn how to live sustainably and reduce their carbon footprint, and build a solar notebook charger that they were able to take home.

Golden Hawk Gladiator

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While most students are enjoying their summer having fun in the sun, Centennial High School senior, Aleyna Young, spent her summer in a courtroom preparing for the Gladiator Mock Trial World Championship.

Young was the only Centennial student to compete in the competition, held in Newport Beach on July 12-14. Unlike the typical mock trial competition where students have a team to lean on, this one pits the best high school mock trial competitors in the nation against each other in a unique one-on-one tournament.

Young’s countless hours practicing for the championship paid off as she took home the second-place title. This “attorney” did not stop there. From Newport Beach, Young got on a plane to compete in Top Mock at Furman University where she was named top attorney. Way to go!

ROC Summer CampThe Regional Occupational Center (ROC) opened up its doors to Fruitvale Junior High School students this summer for an opportunity to explore various career fields.

Three week-long sessions were available for students to learn what it would be like to work alongside a dentist, or maybe in an auto body shop, in an agriculture career, behind the camera, or what it takes to start their own business.

A ROC instructor taught each interactive class designed to get the young students to start thinking about future careers.

The ROC has partnered with Fruitvale Junior High for the past four years to put on the summer camp.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Contact UsFor more information about Kern High School District schools and programs, visit us on the web at:

www.kernhigh.org

Kern High School District5801 Sundale AvenueBakersfield, CA 93309(661) 827-3100

Erin Briscoe-ClarkePublic Information OfficerErin_Briscoe@kernhigh.org

Aug 5 Board of Trustees Regular Meeting EOC Boardroom 7 P.M.

Aug 12 & 13 Teacher Orientation

August 14 First Day of School

Kern High School District Public Information Office

KHSDAward Winning Publication

The latest edition of Achieve Magazine, a publication of the KHSD School Support Services is available now. Achieve Magazine is an award-winning magazine, recently taking home an Award of Excellence at the California

School Public Relations Association (CalSPRA) Annual Seminar and Awards in Santa Rosa. Achieve is available now at the District Office, our school sites,

and at Kern Schools Federal Credit Union branches.

Kern High School DistrictMission Statement

The mission of the Kern High School District is to provide programs and services to allow ALL

students to graduate from high school prepared to succeed in the workplace and at the post-secondary level.