THE TROUBADOUR EXPRESS

SCHOOLS OF ACADEMICS, VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS,

& TECHNICAL ARTS
Santa Susana High School
3570 Cochran Street
Simi Valley, California 93063

Wendy Mayea - Principal

Bob Labelle Assistant Principal
Shayna Ledesma Assistant Principal

Phone (805) 520-6800

Fax (805) 579-6385
http://www.santasusana.org/
December 12, 2014

December 12, 2014

Table of Contents
Mock Trial ..................... 1-2
Mock Trial Pin Design
Contest Winner ................... 3

Troubadours take first place

in Empire Mock Trial
Championship
In the spring of this year, the Santa
Susana mock trial team received an invitation
to apply for Empire Mock Trial, an

Reagan Film Festival

Winner ................................ 3

international mock trial championship with

School Choice Month ......... 4

competitions in New York and San Francisco. Based on their

Instrumental Music ............. 4

Kudos .................................. 4
School Lunches ................... 4
Winter Dance Concert ........ 5
Edge Dance Fieldtrip .......... 5
College and Career ............. 6
Senior Project Panel ............ 6
Finals Schedule ................... 7
Heart for the Arts ................ 7

application and their performance in previous local competitions, the

Troubadours were accepted into the San Francisco competition. For
six months, the team studied Lee Allen vs. Neptune Underwater
Expeditions, a wrongful death suit in which Lee Allen died in a scuba
diving accident. The college-level case involved a completely new set
of mock trial rules and procedures, and so it entailed a great deal of
hard work, with rigorous practice all throughout summer break and
into the school year.

Calendar .............................. 8

Once in San Francisco, after a day of sight-seeing, the

Scholarship Info .................. 9

competition began. All teams in the competition participated in four

FAFSA ........................ 10-11

preliminary rounds, and at the conclusion of those rounds, the top two
teams would battle for first place in a championship round the next
day. The Troubadours went against the best mock trial teams in the
Continued on page 2

MOCK TRIAL continued

world in the first four rounds and ended up in second place, which qualified the team for the
championship round. The next day, the Troubadours' defense went against Clarke Central High School
from Georgia, and finished with the first place championship title. Santa Susana also took home two
Outstanding Attorney awards, given to Troubadour attorneys Megan Jones and Nikol Spaho. Santa
Susana was the only team in the competition to receive two Outstanding Attorney awards.
Story by Megan Jones
Read more about it the Ventura County Star at:
http://www.vcstar.com/news/education/schoolwatch/santa-susana-high-school-winsempire-mock-trial-competition_76043900

SANTA SUSANA STUDENT WINS COUNTY MOCK TRIAL DESIGN CONTEST

CAMARILLO, CA Sonya Stone, a senior at Santa Susana High School in
Simi Valley, submitted the winning artwork that will represent the 2015
Ventura County Mock Trial.
Sonyas artwork, which features a figure of Blind Justice encircled by stars,
will represent this years Mock Trial Case, People v. Shem: An Art Theft.
Sonyas drawing will be featured on lapel pins, awards, fliers and packets
publicizing the event.
The 31st annual Ventura County Mock Trial will be held February 23 - 27,
2015, at the Ventura County Superior Court. Close to 500 students in grades nine through 12 will portray
each of the principals in the cast of courtroom characters. Student teams study the hypothetical case,
conduct legal research, receive guidance from volunteer attorneys in courtroom procedure and trial
preparation, and present their case before volunteer judges. The Ventura County Office of Education and
the Ventura County Superior Court host the event with support from the Constitutional Rights
Foundation.
More than 150 scoring attorneys volunteer their time, with sponsorship provided by Sage Publications and
various local businesses and organizations.
For more information about Ventura County Mock Trial, click here.
--By the Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Office

RONALD REAGAN LIBRARY FILM FESTIVAL

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library hosted its
second annual student Film Festival on December 3rd.
The festival highlighted student-created short films
commemorating the 30th anniversary of the 1984 Los
Angeles Olympics.
Mitchell Nagy from Santa Susana High School won
best overall film. Featuring never before seen footage
front the library archives, this beautiful film, Restoring
the Olympic City, highlights the mission impossible
accomplished by one of the greatest event organizers ever. A fascinating story combining the
sociopolitical and economic context restored by this 1984 event!
Congratulations Mitchell. SSHS is so proud of your work!
Watch this 6 min short film on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hehh2KnhwHM

SSHS SCHOOL CHOICE MONTH

Coming soon
Information on School Choice
Month coming in January

INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

"This group of SSHS talented students just mastered a live Disney recording.
They were amazing!
The hard part of the day was getting them to leave the park.
" From Facebook page

KUDOS
Grant Measures, a junior at Santa Su, has been cast in Hairspray at Simi Valley Cultural
Arts Center. The show is from January 10th February 15. Congratulation Grant!

SCHOOL LUNCHES

To pay for school lunches and see what is on the menu go to:

www.ahigherlevel.com/healtheliving/simi

WINTER DANCE CONCERT

The Dance Department Proudly presents their Winter Concert titled, A Night at
the Movies- Dancing Across the Silver Screen, on Friday, January 16 at 7
pm and Saturday, January 17th at 2 pm and 7 pm.
Students will be showcasing their personal creations in this performance. Each
piece performed is unique and individual in nature and will follow the "Movie
theme" in some way, whether capturing storyline within a movie, captivating the
feeling or message behind the movie, or simply being inspired by the music from the movie. There will
surely be something for every audience member to enjoy and many may be taken back in time simply
through identifying with the music choices.
Tickets will go on sale through Vendini on December 15 and will be open to Booster members
first. They will continue to sell over the winter break for anyone who is a "non-member." Please buy
your tickets as early as possible so that tickets are available for you. This is a
larger concert with many dancers involved and we want to make sure our families
are accommodated.
The dancers have been working diligently and we hope you enjoy their work as
much as we enjoy working with them. Happy Holidays!

EDGE DANCE FIELD TRIP

On Tues. November 4th, SSHS dancers attended the Edge Fieldtrip. The field trip is directly tied to
education and is designed to offer supplemental instruction from industry professionals in a multitude of
dance genres.
Students were able to personalize their schedules and choose classes from hip hop, ballet, contemporary,
jazz, theatrical, and street jazz choreographers to name a few. It was also a great time for the students and
instructors to be able to "take class" together. Ms. Lewis took a challenging ballet class and Mrs. Giles
braved the Street Hip hop class.
While the Edge does not permit the use of photography or videography in order
to protect the integrity of the work of their instructors (much of the
instructor's work will be used for
professional purposes such as
music videos, television, setting
productions, etc.), we were able to
snap a couple of photos of what
the dancers/SSHS
students accomplish on their
"down time." As always,
during student down time and in
between classes, students keep up
on their academics.

COLLEGE AND CAREER CENTER

Stressed about how you are going to pay for college?? Have questions about the
FAFSA (Free Application for Student Aid)?? Then mark your calendars for
Wednesday, January 21st, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. in the MUR! We will have a
representative from a local University here to present on Financial Aid. The
information will be relevant whether you are attending a four-year or two-year
College. Even if you think you wont qualify, I encourage ALL families to apply attend the
financial aid workshop and to apply for the FAFSA online at https://fafsa.ed.gov/ as it is a FREE
application to determine your eligibility for FREE aid for college. This workshop is recommended for
juniors and seniors to attend, however, all students are welcome! It is never too early to start gathering
information for college. (Please see the attached flyers for helpful resources).
College Visits: While the recruiting season for admissions representatives is generally during fall, I am
working on getting representatives to SSHS during the spring. Please come see me in the CCC to request
the colleges you would like to have visit.
On Wednesday, January 14, there will be a college
student representative from the outreach program
at Harvard here during lunch time.

Planning on taking the ACT or SAT?

Register NOW!
ACT: January 9th for the February 7th test.
SAT: December 29th for the January 24th test.

Please see Mrs. Wigdor with any questions about

college, majors, financial aid, and scholarships.
jennifer.wigdor@simivalleyusd.org

SENIOR PROJECT PANEL

A Senior Project is a culminating activity that demonstrates the knowledge and expertise students have
gained in their area of focus while attending SSHS.
On Thursday, March 26th, faculty and members of the community will be participating as panelist for our
Class of 2015 Senior Project presentations. If you would like to sit on a panel for Senior Projects, go to
the school website and click on the link for Senior Projects or click on the following link right to sign up.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1hNu06vcVhpdj9PEOdUdhekDvzQ68y4yeqQJHvdy4GMA/viewform?usp=send_form

FIRST SEMESTER FINALS SCHEDULE

Final Exam Schedule - December 2014
Tuesday, December 16th
8:00 10:00
Period 3
10:00 10:25
Break *
10:30 12:30
Period 5
Lunch 12:30-1:30
1:30-3:30
Period 8
Wednesday, December 17th
8:00 10:00
Period 2
10:00 10:25
Break *
10:30 12:30
Period 4
Lunch 12:30-1:30
1:30-3:30
Period 1
Thursday, December 18th
8:00 10:00
Period 6
10:00 10:25
Break *
10:30 12:30
Period 7
Lunch 12:30-1:30
1:30-3:30
Period 9
Friday, December 19th
Minimum Day
Period 1 starts at 8AM - Period 7 is over at 12:30 PM

Periods 1, 8, & 9 finals should be given during the regularly scheduled times unless a full 2 hour of
time is required to administer the final. See schedule above for the 2 hour accommodations.
(*) The SSHS Cafeteria will serve food during the Break (*).
All teachers are expected to provide a meaningful culminating activity that uses the entire Final
Exam Period AND Minimum Day.
Please, no students are to be let out of class early!

HEART FOR THE ARTS

Marissa Cancholas senior project, Heart for the Arts, is an amazing show that
demonstrates the excellence of Santa Susana Performing Arts departments. The
show will be demonstrating the best the vocal music, instrumental, dance, theatre,
and stagecraft departments have. This performance will be held in Santa Susana's
Performing Arts Center on February 14th 2015 at 2:00 pm. Tickets cost $25
general admission and $35 if you would like hors d'oeuvres at 1:00 pm. Tickets are
on sale now!

MUSICAL THEATRE PRESENTS: THE WORLD GOES AROUND Friday, December 12, 7:00 PM and Saturday December 13th 2:00 PM
and 7:00 PM in the PAC. Ticket Prices: $18 general admission, $16 ASB,
Senior (55+), Child (12 and under). Special $13 price for Boosters or student
with ASB (matinee show only).

FIRST SEMESTER FINALS - Tuesday, December 16 through Friday December, 19th

WINTER BREAK December 20 through January 5th.

SECOND SEMESTER STARTS - Tuesday, January 6th.

WINTER DANCE CONCERT: DANCING ACROSS THE SILVER SCREEN - Friday, January
16th, 7:00 PM and Saturday January 17th 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM in the PAC. Ticket Prices:
$15 general admission, $13 ASB, Seniors (55+), Children (under 12), $10 ASB and Booster
discount (matinee only), Booster pre-sale begins December 15th.