Winter Break!

Last day of the Semester - Winter Break! The final Final exam is over, and sixteen days of vacation await. The photos below are just a small sample of the festive decorations found around the school. Have a great Christmas, Hanukkah, or whatever winter fest you like!

El Solano Yearbook: 1932

The Santa Paula High School 1932 El Solano Yearbook is online! The yearbook was published during the depression years, and is a small volume containing just over 40 pages of content. As Freeman M. Eakin (the same Eakin for which the Eakin auditorium is named) states in the Principal's message, "The 1932 EL SOLANO in particular is of necessity brief and to the point in its portrayal. The vainglorious boasting which characterizes most annuals has been eliminated and in its places there is a sane and sensible record". Another sign of the times was the formation of a Thrift Club, which makes an appearance in the yearbook.

The 1932 Senior class had just 68 members. The majority had individual photos in the yearbook, although a few just have their names listed. Juniors, Sophomores and Freshmen didn't have individual photos, but were represented by group photos on the steps of the old school building. The class pages took up about a third of the yearbook, with the remainder mainly composed of short articles about school clubs and athletics (softball replaced baseball this year!).

The layout of the online 1932 yearbook is close to the actual layout of the yearbook. The images are slightly touched up for clarity and much of the text was re-typed, instead of scanned, to make it easier to read. To avoid damaging the yearbook, the scanning was done on a very thin scanner perched on the edge of a table so the yearbook would not need to be opened beyond 90 degrees.

In addition to the 1932 El Solano, the 1903 El Solano has been reformatted. The original online version was completed a number of years ago, and although all the content of the yearbook is present, the layout isn't exactly the same as in the actual yearbook.

Be a Giraffe!

Looking out my window I noticed a small group of students busily at work near one of the stairway walls. Investigating, I discovered that they were drawing rather cheerful giraffes on the wall.

When asked why they were drawing the giraffes, they stated that they were from ASB and were encouraging students to be giraffes. This was as good an answer as any I suppose, and the drawings did seem to be having the desired effect. Two of my students, Jeremy W. and Jessica T. both stated that they did indeed want to be giraffes after seeing the murals.


Have a great weekend!

Day of the Dead

Santa Paula High School held its fourth annual Day of the Dead celebration on November 2nd. In past years, MEChA and Folklorico have collaborated to put on the celebration, although this year MEChA took the lead in organizing the event. The event is an opportunity to showcase student art and Folklorico dancers as well as to raise money for campus clubs through food sales.

El Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico and other Latin American countries between October 31st and November 2nd. Although the Day of the Dead falls near Halloween, it is a very different holiday. The focus of Halloween is evil and scary spirits that people try their best to avoid. The celebration of the Day of the Dead welcomes the spirits of departed friends and relatives.

Although the Day of the Dead honors loved ones and friends who have died, it is a festive occasion, not a scary or gloomy one like Halloween. Sometimes all night feasts are held in graveyards with decorated tomb stones and people celebrating through the night.

In traditions thousands of years old, dating back to the ancient cultures of Mexico such as the Olmec, Toltec, Mayan and Aztec, masks were made to honor the dead. These masks are often stylized skulls or Calaveras representing life and rebirth. During the Day of the Dead, masks and face painting add to the festive atmosphere of the celebration. The masks used to decorate the central courtyards during the Santa Paula High School celebration were made by Ms. Renteria's AVAD and EL classes. In addition to the masks, the courtyard was decorated with papel picado made by Ms. Madrigal's students.

During the Day of the Dead, families put out alters with favorite foods and objects that were special to their departed loved ones. Special bread called pan de muertos (bread of the dead) and candy skulls are also common. The Spirits consume the "essence" of the food while the actual food is eaten by the family and friends of the departed. During this year's celebration, pan de muertos was provided by MEChA.

The dances (Danza Azteca) at the noontime celebration were performed by Huitzilin iuan Xochitl (Hummingbird & Flower), Naui Olin (4 Movement) along with independent dancers, including our own Mr. Pinedo and Mr. Vega. In pre-Columbian times the dead were honored twice a year with dances and celebrations. When Spain conquered California and Mexico, these ancient customs merged with Spanish customs and became part of the Day of the Dead festivities.

Thanks to Mr. Torres, Ms. Renteria and Mr. Vega for organizing the celebration and providing information for this article!

Halloween / Santa Paula-Fillmore Game

The end of October was a busy one with both the classic Santa Paula-Fillmore football game and Halloween occurring during the same week!



Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so ASB declared Thursday Halloween dress up day. Many students and teachers wore their Halloween costumes, including Mr. Lopez in his most excellent Hellboy costume, pictured to the left. A Haunted Hallway was set up by ASB members in the mysterious dark and locked hallway behind the library. The Haunted Hallway was a big (and loud) success.

Friday is the classic Santa Paula-Fillmore football game. This is the 99th year the two teams have played, and Cardinal students and teachers demonstrated their pride by wearing the school colors of red and white and participating in events such as "Smash the Flashes Car"

Academic Achievement / Higher Education Day

This Wednesday, October 21st, Santa Paula High School honored students who earned a 2.5 or higher GPA or significantly improved their grades on their last report card. Eligible students received their tickets at the beginning of forth period and were excused to the Bryden Gym for a special academic assembly followed by lunch provided by the school.

After lunch, seniors attended a college seminar and participated in a college fair in the courtyard that hosted over 20 representatives from various colleges.

The event was a great success and the administration complemented the participating students for their behavior and enthusiasm in continuing their education after high school.

Santa Paula High School Blood Drive

United Blood Services visited Santa Paula High School this Thursday for the Fall blood drive. Sponsored by the Associated Student Body, over 100 students signed up to donate blood and save lives. This year the minimum age to donate blood was lowered to 16 years (with parental permission), and this helped increase the number of students donating. Students donating blood were rewarded with a cool shirt as well as the traditional cookies and juice.

United Blood Services is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1943. They provide blood and blood products to over 500 hospitals throughout the United States, helping over 15 million people in need of lifesaving blood.

If you missed donating blood this time, don't worry - Santa Paula High School will be holding a second blood drive this spring.

Santa Paula High School FFA Petting Zoo

For the twelfth year in a row, the Santa Paula High School FFA is sponsoring a petting zoo at the Faulkner Farms Pumpkin Patch. This year's petting zoo has a varied collection of cute animals, including baby chicks, ducks, and piglets. Visitors will also get to see a young heifer calf, lambs and goats. The petting zoo is staffed by friendly and knowledgeable FFA students that can answer any questions you or your kids might have about the animals. All this for only a couple dollars!

The money raised will be used to support FFA programs at Santa Paula High School, including maintaining the Agriculture Academy's farm, purchasing animals and equipment, and helping students pay for leadership conferences. In addition to raising money for FFA programs, students gain valuable experience working with the animals, helping the community and interacting with the public. Every Friday, senior interns will lead tours of the farm for school children from local elementary schools.

The Faulkner Farms Pumpkin Patch is put on by the Santa Paula Rotary Club and has many other attractions for the entire family, ranging from pony rides for the kids, a pumpkin chucker (a big catapult type device the hurls pumpkins), a unique country store, gardens, live music, a wide variety of food, and much more. The Pumpkin Patch is open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm every weekend in October, except for Halloween when the Pumpkin Patch closes at 3:00. Admission is only $3.00.

Moustache Day!

Today, the third day of homecoming week was Moustache Day and it was a day filled with hirsute upper lips. Some students opted for a simple inked mustache, others glued on a conservatively trimmed moustache. A few had classic handlebar mustaches, with waxed spiral tips. Here and there one could even find the classic ZZ Top look with a full mustache and beard combo.

Homecoming Week!

This week is homecoming week at Santa Paula High School. The week starts off with dress up days. Monday is Pajama Day, Tuesday is Starlight Star Bright (wear white) Day, Wednesday is Mustache Day (this could be disturbing...), Thursday is Clone Day and Friday is School Spirit Day (wear Cardinal colors!)

Lunch time rallies will be featured all week long in center courts, and there will be an all school Homecoming rally on Friday, October 2nd. Soon after the rally, at 3:30, the traditional Cardinal Homecoming parade begins on Main Street. Later on that evening, the football team will play their homecoming game versus Santa Clara at Jones Field.

Wrapping up this year's Homecoming events is the Homecoming dance on Saturday, October 3rd between 8:30 and 11:30. The theme of the dance is On The Moon, and rumor has it that ASB has put together a memorable event.

Club Day

Santa Paula High School's annual Club Day was held Tuesday, September 22nd in the center courts. Most of the school's clubs were represented. During the half hour at lunch, club leaders discussed their clubs' goals and activities with interested students. Club booths included a variety of displays ranging from Japanese manga and original student art to small robots strolling around tables.

Clubs represented included the Anime club, Future Farmers of America (FFA), Folklorico, the International Travelers Club, Interact, Key Club, Knowledge Bowl, Geo Bowl, MECHA, MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement), SESPEA, and the Theater Team.

To provide additional entertainment, radio station Q104 set up a booth and entertained the crowds with music and prizes.

Back to School Night

Santa Paula High Schools' Back to School night started off with an assembly held for the parents in the Auditorium. Principal Marietti greeted our students' parents and thanked them for their attending. Inviting parents to take this opportunity to meet their children's teachers, Mr. Marietti stressed the importance of good communication and working as a team to support our student's academic success.

Following the principal's introduction, parents were invited to join the school PTSA (Parent Teacher Student Association) to help support the school community. Assistant Principal Garcia then discussed Zangle's Parent Connect system, explaining how parents can sign up and how it can be used to easily track student's grades and progress.

Upon the conclusion of the assembly at 7:00, parents progressed through their student's schedules. Each "class" was ten minutes long, and teachers presented the topics they covered in their classes as well as their grading and classroom policies. With five minute passing periods, the entire day's schedule took about an hour and a half.

Refreshments were provided by the school in center courts. Parents, students and staff were served Kathy Klienhans' award winning cookies made with her top secret recipe as well as coffee, water and other beverages. Jostens also had a booth set up in center courts for students who wanted to get their class ring orders sent in early.

This year's Back to School night was a success, with excellent attendance and many productive conversations between teachers and parents. Christine Wilkinson stated that she felt that parents were "excited about parent connect". Jill Gregory commented that she was impressed in the efficient way that security helped parents navigate the evening campus and complemented our maintenance staff on how great our historical campus looked.

First rally of the year!

Ms. Thompson started things off with a rousing rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. Mr. Marietti then announced to the assembled students and teachers that Santa Paula High School increased its API by 16 points and students scored higher in every academic category than they did last year. After this he introduced our new teachers, Adrian Barragan, Timothy Kim, Jessica Newville, Gretchen Speer, Skyler Veneables, Leaf Monroe and our new Assistant Principal, Elizabeth Garcia.

The first contest of the year pitted the enthusiasm of the rookie teachers against the old age and treachery of the veteran teachers in a ruthless game of musical chairs. Many educators started the game, but few remained at the end. In the final moments it came down to Mr. Kaufer, Mr. Barragan and Ms. Garcia. In a cunning move that would make any ninja proud, Mr. Barragan took the final seat and won the game for the rookie teachers.

The traditional (and loud) contest of Cardinal Yells then took place between the classes, with both the freshmen and seniors raising a calliope of noise. When the dust settled and everyone's ears stopped ringing, the freshmen had claimed victory.

The second game of the rally took place next. A pair of students from each class formed a human wheelbarrow, ran across the gym floor, ate a donut from a string, and then returned to their starting point, wheelbarrow style. Once there, they got up, popped a balloon without using their hands and then jumped in a bucket. The Senior class won this rather unique contest.

After a spirited display of Cardinal Cheers by our cheerleaders, it was leaked by the ASB leadership that the theme of Homecoming would be "On the Moon". After this the Color Guard entertained the student body with new gold and red flags accompanied by our own SPHS Band.

The final game of the assembly consisted of duos from each class dressing themselves in as many odd bits of clothing as they could and then going on a mini-scavenger hunt for common items. Although things became a bit confused, the Sophomores achieved victory.

ASB made a few additional announcements regarding applications for the homecoming parade, senior T-shirt sales and the upcoming club day. The rally came to an end, and students and staff left to enjoy a well earned three day weekend!

Gabe Enriquez and ASB deserve congratulations for an excellent and well run start of school assembly!