COLLEGE PLANNING NIGHT - FEBRUARY 23

Save the date!   La Reina High School is pleased to announce a "College Planning Night" on Wednesday, February 23rd from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.  The evening, for parents and students (from any school), has been designed for grade levels 7 through 11.  Attendees will choose three workshops from a wide variety of offerings.  College Planning Night is a great opportunity to gain insight, knowledge and skills to help with the college planning process.  It's never too early to start thinking about college!  Workshop offerings and registration forms will be available soon, on the Regent Review.

ALUM TO WORK WITH UGANDAN CHILD SOLDIERS THIS SUMMER

Sarah McGough '10, a freshman at the University of Notre Dame, has been accepted as a volunteer this summer with Watoto Ministries in Uganda.  Watoto Ministries is an organization that works with former child soldiers and orphans of war to heal their psychological scars and to facilitate post-conflict reconstruction.  Her tour of duty will be eight weeks in one of their children's villages, working directly with the children.  Sarah first became interested in this issue through her efforts with Invisible Children, both at La Reina and Notre Dame.  She stated, "I think it is an incredible opportunity to dive deeper into human rights issues and peace-building." 

CONGRATULATIONS, REGENT SPEECHIES!

Congratulations to these Regent debaters who earned awards at this weekend's Congressional Debate Tournament held at Hart High School:

Varsity Congress, House 1
Marnie Vaughan '13 - First Place
Rachel Warner '13 - Third Place
Rashi Jindani '11 - Fourth Place

Varsity Congress, House 2
Hannah Young '12 - Second Place
Lena Melillo '13 - Third Place
Katie Gerbasi '13 - Fourth Place

Best Presiding Officer Award - Rashi Jindani '11

SCIENCE RESEARCH ELECTIVE TO OFFER NEW OPPORTUNITIES

During the second semester of 2010-11, a new course, Science Research Elective, will begin.  Research conducted in this class will help students develop digital literacy using 21st century technology.  Students will participate in a class research project on Wolbachia to develop hands-on biotechnology skills.

The Wolbachia precollege project explores the control that a bacterium called Wolbachia exerts on the insects whose current habitat is the hill adjacent to the La Reina campus.  Students will explore advanced scientific topics, such as insect identification (biodiversity), DNA extraction (molecular biology), polymerase chain reaction (molecular biology), DNA fingerprinting (molecular biology), DNA sequence analysis using BLAST (bioinformatics), and correlation of phylogenies (evolution).

According to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, "The Wolbachia Project leverages the scientific expertise of the Marine Biology Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachuseets with high schools.  Wolbachia is a wide-spread bacterium that lives symbiotically in at least 20% of the world's insects.  The project's four goals are to:  (1) broaden access of high school students to real-world research; (2) promote nationwide participation in the collection and reporting of new scientific data on bacterial endosymbionts; (3) enhance student interest in and understanding of biology through an integrated lab series; and (4) show students what it is like to be a scientist."

Wish list items 3.8 through 3.12 will provide materials for the students enrolled in this innovative program.  Follow this link to view the wish list:  http://www.lareina.com/development/wishlist.asp

LRHS SOCCER TEAM OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT!

"Without a doubt, this is the most talent I've ever had," La Reina head coach, CreightonVan Horn said.

La Reina is currently 11-2 overall and 2-0 in the Tri Valley League.  Click here to read the full article from The Acorn newspaper.

REGISTRATION PROCESS FOR RETURNING STUDENTS 2011-2012

Registration materials for returning students entering grades 8, 10, 11 and 12 for school year 2011-2012 are now available, please click here.  The completed documents are due to the Business Office on or before March 4, 2011 at 4:00 p.m.

INVITATION TO SUPPORT ST. PASCHAL'S CLOTHING DRIVE

La Reina’s Campus Ministry invites current families to support the St. Paschal Baylon Men’s Club Clothing Drive.  This project will greatly assist men who may be unemployed, needy or homeless in our community.

Clothing will be collected at drop off each morning from Tuesday, Jan. 25 through Friday, Jan. 28.  Boxes will also be on campus for students to deposit their donations.

Contributing just one dress shirt that dad does not use can make an impact during a job interview.  Ties, pants, t-shirts, sweats, jackets, suits, and shoes are also needed. Just one item per family can make a huge difference!

For questions, please contact Mrs. Kristine Durand in Campus Ministry, kdurand@lareina.com.

REGENT EQUESTRIAN TEAM CAPTURES FIRST PLACE!

Congratulations to La Reina's equestrian team for capturing first place and maintaining the league lead in the January 8th Interscholastic Equestrian League meet!  Kelly Kohler '11 was the Varsity Division Reserve Champion in Dressage and Alice Lockhart '12 tied for the Reserve Champion in the Freshman Division.  The Regents continue to hold first place in the IEL by 45 points.

SPEECH & DEBATE TEAM EARNS FIRST PLACE

Congratulations to the LRHS Speech and Debate team.  In a three-day invitational tournament at California Lutheran University, the team earned the first place Sweepstakes award for the total combined team score in the big schools division.

Individual awards were earned by:

Public Forum Debate
Lena Melillo '13 and Rachel Warner '13 - First Place

Congressional Debate
Laurel Rodewald '11 - First Place
Marnie Vaughan '13 - Second Place
Cassidy Budig '12 - First Place, Presiding Officer

Lincoln Douglas Debate
Katie Gerbasi '13 - Third Place

Thematic Interpretation of Literature
Ashley Lawrence '11 - First Place
Kelley Reinke '12 - Second Place

Extemporaneous Speaking
Lena Melillo '13 - Second Place
Hannah Young '12 - Third Place

Original Advocacy
Olivia Polk '12 - Third Place

Duo Interpretation of Literature
Allegra Iezza '13 and Stephanie Larratt '13 - Third Place
Olivia Aulicino '14 and Ryanne Bamieh '14 - Finalists

Oratorial Interpretation
Cassidy Budig '12 - Fourth Place

Impromptu Speaking
Gabriella Brignardello '12 - Finalist
Katie Gerbasi '13 - Finalist

Novice Humorous Interpretation of Literature
Micheala Posner '14 - First Place

Novice Dramatic Interpretation of Literature
Micheala Posner '14 - Second Place

NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY & NATIONAL JUNIOR HONOR SOCIETY

NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY
High School students who are juniors or seniors for the 2010-2011 academic year may apply for membership to the National Honor Society.  Applicants must have at least a 3.1 GPA and provide evidence that they meet the four criteria for membership in National Honor Society:
Excellence in Scholarship
Service
Character
Leadership

Applications are available in the information rack in the Administration Building and outside of the College Center and are due to Mrs. La Belle by Tuesday, January 25th.

Students who have already applied but have not yet been accepted to the National Honor Society may fill out an NHS Addendum form that will allow them to add information to the application without having to repeat the entire application process.  Addendum forms are also available in the information rack in the Administration Building and outside of the College Center and are due to Mrs. La Belle by Tuesday, January 25th.

NATIONAL JUNIOR HONOR SOCIETY
Information Meeting:  Thursday, January 13, 2011
During Lunch ~ Room 417
(Bring Your Lunch)

Eighth and ninth grade students of La Reina High School have the opportunity to qualify for membership to a chapter of the National Junior Honor Society, part of the oldest and most recognized of the nationwide school-based recognition programs.  Membership is based upon excellence in five areas: scholarship, leadership, service, character, and citizenship.

To be eligible for membership scholastically, a student must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.1, totaled from all seventh through ninth grade semester grades.  In addition to the academic requirement, participation and leadership in school and other activities is required.  You must have attended at least one semester at LRHS before you may apply.  If you are interested in being considered as a candidate for NJHS, come to the information meeting to learn about the process of application and acceptance. Please see Mrs. La Belle in the College Center for any questions or contact her at lrhscollege@lareina.com or (805) 495-6494 x 325.

BASKET RECYCLING PROGRAM

A table will be set up in the lower parking lot on Friday, January 14th during the morning drop-off to accept any empty baskets.  Bring one, bring two, bring more!   Empty baskets may also be dropped off in the Parent Relations Office, adjacent to the cafeteria, throughout the year.  For further information, contact Barbara Lilley, Director of Parent Relations at blilley@lareina.com or 805-917-7112.  Thank you!

CIRCLE OF FRIENDS

Circle of Friends Mass will be held on Thursday, Jan. 13 at 8:15 a.m. in the La Reina Chapel.  Come join us for Mass, fellowship and a light breakfast at the 1st Circle of Friends of the Year. Be a good friend . . . reach out and bring someone new for a special morning!

All breakfast delights are welcome! Call Ana Posadas anytime with questions (805) 279-6558