By Elizabeth Gillingham

PHHS junior wins essay contest

Congratulations to Patrick Henry High School junior Mikaela Clippinger! Her essay on “Anthem” earned her the rank of third place in the Ayn Rand Institute’s 2015 essay contest. As a third place winner, she walked away with a cash prize of $200. This contest is one of the largest essay contest programs in the world. Each year, they collect more than 17,000 submissions from more than 100 countries. Mikaela’s third-place ranking placed her essay in the top 5 percent of all the essays received.

Thank you U.S. Army Partners

PHHS supports national bullying prevention month
Eliminating bullying and hate from school campuses is a district priority year-round, but one that takes center stage during National Bullying Prevention Month in October.

Schools throughout the district are holding events and activities that support diversity, encourage tolerance and discourage bullying while the district is working this month to strengthen its efforts to support the LGBTQ student population.

“Bullying prevention week at Patrick Henry is a very big thing on campus,” said ASB President Carlee Anderson. “This week, we started off with wearing purple to show our support against bullying. Thursday, we passed out over 500 rainbow ribbons to show our support for the LGBTQ community. Friday we will be wearing our compliment shirts,” she said.

“We are encouraging everyone to meet at least two new people, and Friday at lunch, we will be having a handprint wall for every student to trace their handprint for a pledge against bullying,” Anderson continued. “We are encouraging everyone to be kind and friendly to one another.” 

Henry student wins mini iPad

San Diego Unified School District honored a Henry student with a brand new mini iPad in a September drive to encourage students to try the meals served by the cafeteria. The Food & Nutrition Services marketing coordinator for the district came to Henry to give our senior Reggennie Toor her prize during her statistics class. What a great gift for a senior in appreciation for dining with the district!

Meet PHHS’s Student of the Month for October

Aldrin Armando Donna Velazquez is a senior at Henry and was selected as the first Student of the Month as he was awarded during the Grantville/Allied Garden Kiwanis Club meeting last month.

With his family at his side, Velazquez was praised for his many different talents and interests. In addition to his efforts as a peer mediator and member of the Link Crew at Henry, Aldrin is the president of the school’s soccer club, and he maintains a part-time job at a local McDonald’s. “He stands out,” Vice Principal Jennifer Pacofsky said, “because he cares about others.” Aldrin hopes to go to college as a sociology major after his graduation from high school. We wish him well in reaching his goals and we are proud to honor him as our PHHS Student of the Month for October!

Aldrin is an incredibly reliable, enthusiastic, and friendly student. He fully embodies the three pillars at Henry as he is kind to all students, talks to all students, and tries to get everyone as involved as he is. He steps up whenever he is needed to do something and has a wonderful attitude while doing it. Last year, he supported one of the teachers by going into their seventh period support class to help out. When she was having a hard time with the behavior of a couple students in that class, he pulled them aside and talked with them as a mentor. During the weekends, Aldrin has been found downtown in Tijuana feeding the homeless.

PHHS Girl’s Golf Team

Patrick Henry Girls Golf team had a great season. All five varsity players participated in the City Conference on Oct. 19. This year, the girls were led by co-captains Amber Christensen and Allison Nguyen. The team has learned that golf is a sport that focuses on honor, integrity and ethics. They have taken these values to heart, and show these values every time they are on the course. The team has learned to be respectful of each other, and those that they play against. Being cohesive and caring about each other’s success is of utmost importance to the team. This is evident when one hears and sees Allison Nguyen, the team’s strongest player, rooting for other team members to medal the match.

Throughout the years, the team has been supported by Coach Chad Miller, who has been devoted to the girls’ golf team for years and has donated countless hours to them. Matt Pennington, general manager at Mission Trails Golf Course, has not only provided a home golf course for the team, but he and his staff have shown genuine interest as the girls are always welcomed and greeted kindly by the marshals. Jim McFarland has also shown his support by always providing the team with uniforms. This team, and previous girls’ golf teams, is grateful for the dedication of these gentlemen, as it is common knowledge that without them, the team would not be possible.
This year, in the memory of Ai Nguyen, My Loan Vu and Allison Nguyen have made a generous contribution to the girl’s golf team and have pledged to continue the donation in Ai’s memory. Ai was a strong advocate for the PHHS girls’ golf team and believed in the team and in Pro Kids –– a goal-oriented program in City Heights that assists players with golf techniques, life skills, and personal growth opportunities. Many of our players have been members of Pro Kids.

The girls’ golf team is always looking for new members and any interested athlete can contact Coach Chad Miller at PHHS.

––Elizabeth Gillingham is the principal of Patrick Henry High School