Blog Archives

Milpitas HS football team to take on Branham for CCS D-IV crown

11/26/2019

After a thrilling 14-13 overtime victory over Hillsdale in last weekend's Central Coast Section Division IV Semi-finals, the top seeded Milpitas High School Trojans will play Branham for the Championship at 4 p.m. November 30 at Independence High School.

To purchase game tickets online, please click on this link (CIFCCS.org is the site that has the link for the gofan tickets if this link fails to work for you.)

Come cheer on our Trojans as they continue their season in the CCS Playoffs.

Independence High School is located at 617 N. Jackson Avenue in San Jose.

Ticket prices are as follows:
Adults $10
Students/Senior Citizens/Children 5 & over $5
Family Pass (2 adults/2 students/children) $28

*CASH only onsite. No credit card purchases at the ticket window. The prices are the same whether you buy night of at the ticket window or online.

Milpitas HS varsity football team to host Hillsdale in CCS Semi-Finals on Nov. 22

11/21/2019

Congratulations to our Milpitas High School Varsity Football team as they continue their season in the CCS Playoffs. MHS took home the victory last week against Overfelt 24-14 to advance to the Semi-Finals this week.

They received the #1 Seed in Division IV. They will take on Hillsdale in the Semi-Finals at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 22 at Milpitas High School. Even though it looks like a home game it is controlled by CCS which means that ASB Cards, Booster Passes staff badges and League Passes are NOT accepted at any CCS Contest. Only CCS passes and CIF State Passes will be accepted at the gate.

We encourage you to buy your tickets ahead of time online so you can walk directly to the entrance gate. Online purchase please click on this link (CIFCCS.org is the site that has the link for the gofan tickets if this link fails to work for you.)

Ticket prices are as follows:
Adults $10
Students/Senior Citizens/Children 5 & over $5
Family Pass (2 adults/2 students/children) $28

*CASH only onsite. No credit card purchases at the ticket window. The prices are the same whether you buy night of at the ticket window or online.

The gates will open at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.

Details:
MHS vs Hillsdale
7pm Kickoff
Friday 11/22
Milpitas High School

Go Trojans!

Mattos Elementary students showcase afterschool artwork for families in Art Gallery Walk

11/20/2019

Mattos first graders Aadya Sinha, Natasha Nikhil, Vihaa Jain, and Hamsini Ajith show their favorite piece of artwork from their portfolios.

Dozens of first through third grade students at Mabel Mattos Elementary School showcased their artwork for family and friends at the November 19 Art Gallery Walk held on the McCandless Drive campus. The Mattos Art Program is sponsored by the Mattos PTA.

It was a culmination of six weeks of lessons in the afterschool art program, with students creating a portfolio of their artwork to display for visitors. This was the first of three sessions for the year and used the art medium of watercolor paint. Students were prepared to answer questions such as: What is your favorite piece of artwork?; If you could do something differently, what would it be?; and What is the title of your painting?

“Parents can walk around to each student and ask them these questions about their work,” said Mattos teacher Amberly Hsieh. “It’s a way for them to showcase their work.”

The Gallery Walk ended with a potluck celebration. The next two sessions will be Model Magic Clay and Stained Glass Glue Art.

Mattos first grader Arush Koka displays his art portfolio at the Art Gallery Walk.

Aadya Sinha, a first grader at Mattos, showcases her artwork for her father Tushar Sinha during the Nov. 19 Art Gallery Walk.

Milpitas HS student-actors set to take the stage in Fall Play

11/20/2019

Milpitas HS student-actors go through a dress rehearsal Nov. 19.

Twenty student actors, one student stage manager and a three-student stage crew make up the cast and crew for Milpitas High School Theater Department’s latest production entitled, “The Madwoman of Chaillot,” a play written by Jean Giraudoux in 1943.

MHS senior Megan Hutchison stars as the title character in director Kaila J. Schwartz’s rendition of the poetic satire set during the Nazi occupation of France. However, the MHS version takes place in Year 2025, and Schwartz noted the play has strong undertones of corporate greed and environmental blindness.

“It’s definitely rich with commentary,” said Schwartz. “I’m seeing a lot of growth (from our student actors). Many of the play’s messages seem to resonate with them rather strongly.”

Three performances, all beginning at 7 p.m., are set for this Thursday, November 21-23 at the MHS Theater on the 1285 Escuela Parkway campus. Advance tickets can be purchased in person (from any cast member) for $10; $11.25 online at our.show/mhs/chaillot; or $12 at the door.

“It’s coming along quite well,” said MHS senior Kat Templeton, the play’s lighting designer.

Students have been rehearsing over the last six-to-seven weeks, since open auditions took place in early September, according to Schwartz.

“Our kids are so very committed,” said Schwartz, noting that a majority of the cast members incorporated elements of garbage in their costumes to go along with the environmental theme.

Schwartz designed the set based on an actual cafe in Paris. Brian Knitter, a social studies teacher, did the set construction.

Milpitas HS student-actors go through a dress rehearsal for their Fall Play, which opens Thursday, November 21 inside the MHS Theater.

CSEA, Nuñez Foundation invest in local students, present donation checks for MUSD programs

11/14/2019

The California School Employees Association and the Nuñez Community Foundation presented Milpitas Unified School District with welcomed donations to several programs offered at each of its high schools to open the November 12 Board of Education meeting.

After advocating to her Board of Directors, CSEA President Machelle Kessinger issued a $500 donation to Milpitas High School Assistant Principal Cheryl Rivera for the school’s continued participation in Camp Everytown.

“I’ve witnessed the students going to Camp Everytown and coming back. To me, I can see just a transformation,” said Kessinger during the presentation.

About 1,600 students at Milpitas High School have attended Camp Everytown over the years, with a group of 40 hand-selected each term, according to Rivera.

“We look for leaders on campus. Students who can influence other students,” said Rivera, who has been at MHS for more than two decades. “We look for students that have leadership abilities. A lot of our kids don’t even know they have that.”

The Silicon Valley FACES initiative is an intensive youth leadership program based on core values of respect, acceptance, and responsibility that promote non-violent campus communities. Students experience group exercises and discussion about self-identity; racial, ethnic, and cultural issues; family relationships; gender roles and violence; peer relationships; and conflict resolution.

“They come back with a plan for our campus,” Rivera added.

Jill Nuñez, representing the Nuñez Community Foundation, offered up a pair of donations to benefit the Cal Hills school community. The first, a $13,000 check, went to Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY), a third-year program with a goal of preventing juvenile crime and incarceration.

“This is a special night for Cal Hills,” said Nuñez, noting that the Foundation has supported FLY since its inception. “(Cal Hills) has wonderful programs, wonderful staff and wonderful kids go there.”

Nuñez did not stop there. She also issued a $2,700 check to author and at-risk advocate Enrique Flores so he can provide 180 copies of his book, “Barrio Side Hero,” to every student at Cal Hills. Flores and MUSD have also formed a mentoring partnership for Cal Hills students.

Top seeded MHS Trojans to host Overfelt in CCS Playoffs on Nov. 15

11/13/2019

Are you ready for some playoff football?

The Milpitas High School football team earned the top seed in the Central Coast Section Division IV Playoffs and will host Overfelt this Friday night, November 15 with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.

Although the game is on the Trojans’ home turf at Milpitas High School, ASB Cards, Booster Passes and League Passes are NOT accepted. Only CCS and CIF State Passes are accepted at all CCS contests.

To purchase tickets online, please click on this link.

Ticket prices are as follows: Adults $10; Students/Senior Citizens/Children 5 & over $5; and Family Pass (2 adults/2 students/children) $28.

If you plan to purchase tickets at the game, please bring cash as credit cards will NOT be accepted at the ticket window.

Gates open at 5:30 p.m.

Milpitas HS, Cal Hills students attend African American College-Readiness Summit at SJSU

11/8/2019

Milpitas students attended the 2019 African American College-Readiness Summit at San Jose State University on November 7.

A contingent of African Ancestry students from Milpitas High School and Calaveras High School attended a college-readiness summit at San Jose State University on November 7.

The students were accompanied by Milpitas High School Assistant Principal Cheryl Rivera, Calaveras Hills High School counselor Jonathan Payne, and MHS teacher/advisor Herman Wilson.

SJSU President Mary Papazian, the Santa Clara County Alliance of Black Educators, 100 Black Men of Silicon Valley, California Alliance of African American Educators, Silicon Valley Black Chamber of Commerce, and the Santa Clara County Office of Education hosted the annual African American College-Readiness Summit.

This Summit is an educational alliance dedicated to the growth and expansion of a college-going culture among our African American youth.

Milpitas Unified School District will host the first of its four-part series, titled “Parent Champions: Empowering Parents with Children of African Ancestry,” starting on December 4 at the Milpitas High School Library.

Here are those event details:

Parent Champions: Empowering Parents with Children of African Ancestry
Attend our FREE 4-part series designed to empower parents with children of African ancestry in Milpitas Unified School District! Let's work together to improve the educational experiences and outcomes for our children.

The Parent Champions Program has a mission to increase college-going and academic achievement of the students we serve by working with both parents and school personnel to increase family engagement. The program uses a working text for teaching and reference, Be A Parent Champion: A Guide to Becoming a Partner with Your Child’s School, and is intentionally designed as an empowerment model of reflections and action steps.

WORKSHOP #1
Date: December 4, 2019
Time: 5:45pm – 7:45pm
Location: Milpitas High School Library
Register: www.tinyurl.com/parentchamp
Future workshop dates: Wednesday, January 8; Wednesday, March 3; and Wednesday, May 13.
*Child care will be provided for children 2 and up

Students from throughout the Bay Area attended the 2019 African American College-Readiness Summit at San Jose State University on November 7.

District-wide Jack Emery food drive is unified effort in service to our community

11/6/2019

Student leaders at Milpitas High School hosted the 2019 Jack Emery Brunch on Nov. 5 to kick off the annual district-wide canned food drive that helps to feed about 4,000 local families throughout the year at the Milpitas Food Pantry.

“This has really made such a huge difference in our community,” said Executive Director Karen Kolander, who shared that these donations help stock the Pantry with enough canned goods to feed needy families for “almost the entire year.”

MHS Associated Student Body President Jessica Uyehara instructed staff and students representing each of the school sites on how the food drive works. A packet was handed out to help guide participants through the process. The drive runs from November 18 through December 11.

“I’m really proud of how everything turned out. The decorations are nice and the food tastes good. We have more guests this year than we had last year,” said Uyehara of the kickoff event that served 120 guests from school sites, the district office, board of education and local business community.

“This (brunch) is a way for our student leaders to connect with all the different schools to kick off the Jack Emery food drive,” said MHS Activities Director Jerell Maneja of the well-attended brunch. “They share the procedures, important calendar dates and how it should look at each of the sites.”

Key Point Credit Union jump-started the festivities with a $150 donation toward the food drive.

Senior Tanya Saharan is MHS’s Student Site Leader for the food drive, setting a goal to eclipse 20,000 cans this year.

“Right now, I’m a little nervous. I’ve been preparing for this for a long time,” said Saharan, who noted that each school site sets their own goals for the food drive.

Brian Shreve, Director of Maintenance, Operations & Transportation, explained that his employees volunteer their time to collect the donated cans from each site and deliver them to the Pantry. They will collect more than 1,000 boxes from the various sites by the end of the drive.

Spangler Elementary School Principal Luis Lopez enjoys brunch with some of his students at Tuesday's Jack Emery Brunch inside the Milpitas High School library.