Back to School Night Handout

The following information was distributed to parents that attended my presentation on Wednesday night.

What’s New @ Orange Lutheran?

September 12, 2007

Year three in our efforts to improve student learning…

1 Block Schedule

o Red, White, and Gold Days (only 3 this year)

o Fewer transitions during the school day – fewer books to carry

o Calmer climate and environment

2 Later starts on Wednesdays

o Teachers (and staff soon) involved in Professional Learning Teams

o Peer Tutoring offered

o Room 200, the Library, and the Counseling Dept. waiting areas are open to students before school and during lunch.

3 Faculty involved in Professional Learning Communities

o Sole focus - every week discussing how to enhance student learning

o Homogenous groupings

o Systematic Instructional Inquiry – intentional discussions on how to enhance student learning – like other professions

4 One Lunch period – earlier in the day a Longer Break w/ breakfast food options

o Two serving lines – everyone served in 20 minutes

o Students eat with their friends

o Lunch does not have to be rushed

o Time for clubs/meeting

o Improved access to teachers – office hours

o Peer Tutoring

5 Buying textbooks

o End of year you set your price to resell to someone else or sell at the resale days back to varsitybooks.com

o Some of you shopped prices – varsitybooks.com is the easy route – one stop shopping

o Google(ing) the ISBN number offers a host of vendors.

o Looking to move up scheduling process to early August to help in buying books

6 Orange Lutheran Online – OLO

o Flexibility in scheduling - Alternate system of delivering courses

o 121 On-campus students

o 8 Blended students (4 classes on-campus, 3 online throughout the year)

o 10 Single course students

o 42 Fulltime students (each taking 3 courses)

o 39 students from 7 Partnership Schools

o 31 teachers/classes - 324 Seats filled – Fall Sem 1

7 Athlete’s PE

o Makes better use of facilities and students’ time during the school day

o Spreads out class scheduling evenly throughout the day (balance)

o Allows some students to go home earlier which enables earlier and additional hours for study

o Facilitates compliance to the performance program by all athletes

o Provides better coach to athlete ratio during performance training – 827 athletes

o Provides educational time for athletes during the in-season

8 Technology

o Projectors, creating a wireless environment, increased bandwidth

Other Changes,,,

9 Mission trips – this past year New Orleans, Mexico, and Malawi

o See Mr. Maietta outside Room 203 for more info

10 Improved Communication:

o Website: www.lhsoc.org

o Lancer Link – web-based - grades and attendance – updated each Monday evening

o LL phones home! or emails re: grades and attendance

o Email to those signed in – important announcements

o e411 - log onto the website and leave your email – it will be emailed monthly

11 Parking

o Seniors on site / Sophomores and Juniors @ Sears – 120 spots

1 No neighborhood parking unless in a driveway with a relative or friend / No soliciting for parking

2 Be good neighbors in am and pm

o Importance for arriving a little earlier – by 7:07 in/out – Wed (by 8:07)

o Age restrictions for drivers hauling other passengers

o Increased Supervision - Campus Security (3) / security cameras installed (28)

12 Staff Changes - Mrs. Leslie Smith – Assistant Principal – x672 leslie.smith@lhsoc.org

What Hasn’t Changed…

1 Our Purpose - Help Students Internalize the Gospel message of salvation in Christ Jesus

2 Our Values

o Excellence in Christian Character Development

o Respect / Honor / Service

o Excellence in Academics

o Excellence in Competition and Performance

3 Our Love for your children

Mr. Gregg Pinick – Principal – x602 – pinick@lhsoc.org

Administrative Assistant - Mrs. Judith Lavigne – 714.998.5151, x619 – lavigne@lhsoc.org

Character Moment #2 – September 12, 2007

Over the next few weeks I am going to spend our time together talking briefly about character traits that all leaders possess. Now you might be thinking that you are not a leader. However, all of us have been or will find ourselves in leadership situations.

A famous leadership speaker, John Maxwell, defined leadership as influence. Even the most timid person influences over 10,000 people in their lifetime. Though many people have been given the gift of leadership, there are attributes that anyone can learn and practice to improve their leadership abilities.

The trait I would like to emphasize today is TRUST. Being a person who is trusted by others is key to being a leader. If a person can trust you, they know that you are a person they can have confidence in to keep your word.

Trust is also a key part of relationships. Think about your best friend. It is a person you can trust with your feelings, with your secrets, with your thoughts. You trust them because you know they won’t belittle you or use your openness and honesty against you.

Losing a person’s trust can be a hurtful thing. As a high school student, many of you long for your parent’s trust. When that is lost, at a time after making a poor choice, it hurts and takes some time to restore. You may even lose privileges until that trust is back to where it once was. Relationships fail when the trust is violated.

Thank the Lord we have a God who can be trusted. Even our money reminds us, “In God we trust.” As Christians, trusting God is walking by faith and not by sight.

Psalm 62:7 from The Message says…
“My help and glory are in God —granite-strength and safe-harbor-God— so trust him absolutely, people; lay your lives on the line for him. God is a safe place to be.” [1]

May each of you grow in your ability to be a person that others can trust. It will insure better relationships in your future.

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[1] The Message, Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. NavPress

Driving Regulations for Teens

Provisional driver license restrictions during the first year

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/teenweb/dl_btn2/dl.htm

After you pass your driving test, you will be issued a provisional driver license. With your provisional driver license, you must be accompanied and supervised by a licensed parent, guardian or other licensed driver 25 years of age or older, or by a licensed or certified driving instructor when you:

• Transport passengers under 20 years of age at any time, for the first twelve months.
• Drive between 11 pm and 5 am for the first twelve months.

This means you cannot give anyone under 20 years old (your friends, your brother(s), sister(s), cousin(s), etc.) a ride unless you have a licensed parent, a guardian or other adult 25 years old or older in the car with you. You are also not allowed to drive between 11 pm and 5 am during your first year after getting your license unless you have a licensed parent, a guardian or other adult 25 years old or older in the car with you.

With a provisional license, you can drive by yourself between the hours of 5 am and 11 pm. If you are under 18, you cannot be employed to drive a motor vehicle.

When you turn 18 years of age, the provisional part of your license ends. You may continue to drive as an adult using your photo license, which will expire on your 5th birthday after the date you applied.

Effective January 1, 2006, these driving restrictions apply to you if you are under the age of 18 and:

• Are issued a provisional driver license (DL) on or after January 1, 2006, or
• Already hold a provisional DL issued on or after January 1, 2005.

To determine if these restrictions apply to you, look at the date on your driver license. The date printed just to the left of your photograph is the date these restrictions begin. The new restrictions apply for 12 months following this date.

For example: If the date on your license is May 7, 2005, you will have the above restrictions through May 7, 2006. Violation of either restriction can result in a fine and/or community service.
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Provisional driver license restrictions during the first year

Exceptions to Restrictions

When reasonable transportation is not available and it is necessary for you to drive, the law grants the following exceptions for provisional license holders to drive between 11 pm and 5 am or to transport an immediate family member unaccompanied and unsupervised.

The law requires that you must carry a note explaining why you must drive and when the necessity will end.

• Medical Necessity
  The note must be signed by your physician and contain a diagnosis and probable date when recovery will end your need to drive.
• School or School-Authorized Activities
  The note must be signed by your school principal, dean, or his or her designee and include a reason for the school or school-authorized activity and the date when the activity will end.
• Employment Necessity
  The note must be signed by your employer and verify employment and the date your employment will end.
• Immediate Need of Family Member
  The note must be signed by your parent or legal guardian and include the reason and date the necessity will end.
• Emancipated Minor
  No documentation is needed for this exemption, however you must have already declared yourself emancipated by completing a DMV form and by providing Proof of Financial Responsibility (SR 1P) in lieu of your guarantors' signatures when you applied for your instruction permit.

Character Moment #1 – September 5, 2007

Hi, this is Mr. Pinick and each Wednesday I will take a couple of minutes to share with you a thought about something that is very important to our school, your character.

There is a great story told by Michael Josephson[1], who writes many articles on character. When doing a radio call-in show about cheating, a man named Stan called in to mock his concern.

(Stan) “He cheated to get into college, he said. He cheated in college to get a job. And now he occasionally cheats on his job to get ahead. In fact, he concluded, cheating is such an important life skill that parents ought to teach their kids how to do it.

Evidence is mounting that lots of people share Stan's amoral (unethical) pragmatism (matter-of-factness). Because they define success and happiness in terms of getting what they want when they want it, ethics (principles) seems irrational. After all, in a world where cheaters so often prosper, why should anyone give up the benefits of dishonesty?

Well, for one thing, the Stans of the world have no idea the price they're paying for the little they're getting. A life without principles is demeaning and self-defeating. The Stans of the world are cheated as often as they deceive others. What's more, they victimize themselves. As they scrape and struggle to fill their lives, they give up their chance to lead fulfilling lives.

The happiest people I know are those who find purpose and meaning pursuing a grander vision of a good life measured in terms of worthiness, not net worth. Virtue is not a tactic; it's a life philosophy.

We paint the self-portrait we call our character by our values and actions. We can choose to render that likeness in the pale watercolors of shallow successes and short-lived pleasures or in the deep, rich oils of honor, spirituality, peace of mind, and self-respect. The enduring impact of our choices is not what we get, but what we become.”

In Proverbs 22:1, Solomon wrote, “A sterling reputation is better than striking it rich; a gracious spirit is better than money in the bank.” [2]

Thanks for listening. Have a great day.

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[1] The Self-Portrait Called Character 529.2 - Commentaries by Michael Josephson - Week 529 August 24-30, 2007

[2] The Message, Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. NavPress

Welcome Back!

Welcome to the 35th year of ministry at Orange Lutheran High School. This year's school theme is from Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)...

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

The staff and I look forward to a wonderful year partnering with families as we help their student(s) internalize the Gospel message of salvation in Christ Jesus.

be God's,

Gregg Pinick, Principal

Helpful Website

Here is a site I was told about recently.

http://www.netlingo.com/

Checkout the list that describes

The Top Twenty Acronyms Every Parent Should Know

Senior Chapel Address

This is my message to the seniors today in chapel.

Members of the Class of 2007, let me open by just saying you look fabulous today!!! And the opportunity to be a part of honoring you here today before your peers is truly a great privilege…You’ve accomplished much, and God has great things in store for you as you ready yourselves to leave Orange Lutheran.

I want to share a story with you this morning. It took place over 18 years ago in a little apartment in Anaheim, CA. I was a new father of a week-old daughter and her 2 year old brother. One night, my wife and I were sitting in the living room and for some reason she (my wife) decided to go into the bedroom to check on our daughter. I’ll never forget her cry out for help. She brought our daughter out to me, and she was not breathing. I listened for her breath – nothing. I listened for her heartbeat – very faint. I told my wife to call 911 as I started to administer CPR. Within minutes the paramedics were there and they noticed that she had started to breath again. I handed her off and they took her to Anaheim Memorial.

As we watched her on the big bed, we thought maybe we had imagined this whole thing. Feeling a little embarrassed we called the nurse over. Soon after the nurse noticed that our daughter had stopped breathing again. She was then sent to CHOC where she spent a week being checked out.

After many tests the doctor’s called it a near miss SIDS. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. We were speechless, and then terrified it would happen again. The hospital sent us home with a heart and breathing monitor. There were little electrodes on a band that velcroed across her chest. The machine would blink to show she was breathing and that her heart was still beating.

We really got used to that monitor and found it very reassuring to look over at anytime and know that she was ok. It went off once, but that was a faulty wire. It was a nice thing to have that monitor for the three months. Then came the day they took her off the monitor. Her mom and I had to trust God as the monitor from that point on.

A monitor in life is a good thing. If we approached danger, it can go off and remind us that we need to correct something. Next Saturday, ladies and gentleman, you go off the monitor so to speak. What will you have as your monitor as you leave OL?

Over the past four years for many of you, this school has been a built in monitor to let you know if something wasn’t right. Your families and true friends have been monitors that let you know when you are wandering too close to the out of bounds. As you get older, and have more independence, the desire for a monitor will need to come from within.

Two thoughts I share with you today…

I truly believe that God’s Word is our monitor. Over the years you have been asked to read it, asked to memorize it, asked to learn from it. That encouragement now needs to become your own. I would encourage you to read a little everyday. As a man who did not do this until 10 years ago, I would share that my life has completely changed because of the power of His Word. Let His Word be your guide – Your monitor. It is all the power you will ever need to take on any battle in your life.

Finally, over the past four years you have walked by the front office everyday, and you walked past a mural that was painted about 8 years ago. The words – It’s never too late to do the right thing – are words that have meant a lot to me in my lifetime. I heard them when a Pastor Chuck Swindoll shared a story about a girl who had not kept her virginity and was struggling with his Waiting until marriage campaign. She said she couldn’t participate because she hadn’t waited. He told her it is never too late to do the right thing. Wait from this moment on.

We all sin and fall short of God’s glory. We have done things that make us feel bad or ugly – things we know that do not please God. When you are faced with those times and you wish you could start over – start over. That’s what forgiveness is – a fresh start, a clean slate, a redo. As long as we are alive we can say it’s never too late because of what Christ did on the cross for each of us. He gave us the opportunity to start new. By His grace we receive His love and forgiveness.

Go through life as a forgiving person. Those that hold grudges and withhold forgiveness are the one’s that are miserable. Forgive as you have been forgiven.

You have great days ahead of you. Finish this year in a positive way – be complete – don’t take short cuts, and your memories back on your days of life at O Lu will be wonderful.

be God’s,

Mr. Pinick