Congratulations to WGHS freshman softball pitcher Kelsee Graves. She’s been honored as the SJ mercury’s female high school athlete of the week:

Kelsee Graves, Willow Glen
Sport: Softball — Position: Pitcher — Class: Freshman

Accomplishment: Graves started the season as a third baseman but became a starting pitcher for the Rams. Last week, she threw back-to-back no-hitters and went 4 for 6 with four RBIs against San Jose Academy and Yerba Buena as Willow Glen clinched a tie for the West Valley Division title. Graves is 19-2 with a 1.80 ERA. “Kelsee has power and finesse, she knows how to hit her spots,” Rams Coach Scott McCollum said. “She has a full complement of pitches and uses all of them effectively.”

Of course, Kelsee’s exploits were originally uncovered by the WG Resident, with articles about the WGHS Softball team’s victory over James Lick in March, her 11th win of the year (a shutout win over Andrew Hill on April 5), and yet another victory on April 8.

Congratulations, Kelsee!

Parents … Kids … check out this great concert on Saturday …

Explorer Coop Preschool Hosts: The Milkshake Concert

Mark your calendars for this exciting family event on Saturday, May 10th, 10:30AM at the Markham Little Theater (Willow Glen Middle School) on Cottle Ave. Regularly seen on Noggin, PBS and Discovery Kids, the Milkshake Band is an entertaining and fun band with lots of great musical themes perfect for kids 3-8 years of age. Their music shares the Explorer spirit of learning through play, fun and creative imagination. Mom and Dad will love to dance along to the fun rock and roll beat as well! …

Share the love of music with your kids and friends! Get your tickets now! Seats are limited so don’t be left out of this exciting event! Tickets are $16. Children 18 months and younger are free. Please invite your friends and family to this one time only event sponsored by Explorer Parent Coop Preschool.

Seating is limited, so you’ll want to get your tickets this week by emailing the parent volunteers at Explorer, or printing out the order form and dropping it in the mail.

Of course, the Milkshake Band is well-regarded, including a favorable preview in a recent edition of the SJ Mercury News. Don’t miss it!

What’s a Film Festival without film? … since there’s very little ‘film’ involved these days, maybe we shouldn’t try to answer that question.

Regardless of the answer, the folks behind the WGHS & WGMS Music Boosters are looking for submissions for their annual festival, which will be held on Friday, May 9, with proceeds to benefit the Willow Glen Foundation:

Dear Amateur Film People,

The Willow Glen Middle and High School “Thursdays at the Theater” Series is looking for short films to show at its third Annual Film Festival On May 9th.

If you or your child has made a short (1m to 10min) film and would like to show it at the film Festival, please send it on a DVD …

Rick Guptill

Leave a comment to this post, and WGx will get you in touch with Rick.

Just a quick WGx reminder … if you see a public school student this week, wish them well on their STAR tests. California students from second grade through high school are taking the state-mandated tests this week.

Here’s a new twist on public schools: Online Playdates. Sort of.

Several grassroots efforts have begun to connect incoming Kindergarten students — and their families — with each other before school starts in the Fall. And most of them are using “Yahoo Groups” for organization, recruiting, and communication:

• Booksin Elementary School Yahoo Group
• Schallenberger School Yahoo Group
• Willow Glen Elementary Yahoo Group

(more…)

Willow Glen’s got a a big walkathon weekend (if you count Friday) coming up, with popular fund raisers being held at Willow Glen Elementary on Friday and at River Glen School on Saturday. In honor of River Glen’s Spanish Immersion concept — which may or may not take hold at WG Elementary — WGx wishes both schools luck at their respective Caminatas!

Booksin School combines its two annual collection drives this month, accepting food donations on behalf of Second Harvest and clothing donations for SJUSD’s Healthy Start Family Support Center through Friday, April 11.

If you don’t have a Booksin student to help you deliver them, just drop them by the school during open hours this week. For the food drive, cans with pull-tops are especially helpful. The school also accepts big boxes to help sort clothes. (more…)

Sure, you’ve already got your tickets for the WG High School musical performance of “Leader of the Pack” – which starts this week – but what if you prefer your theater with comedy and a slightly younger cast? Well, you’re in luck!

HONK, Jr. — Starring Willow Glen Middle School students

Bring the whole family and enjoy this laugh out loud comedy based on the Ugly Duckling story.

April 15, 16, 17 and 19
Willow Glen Middle School’s Little Theater (2105 Cottle Ave)

All of the information is available on the Willow Glen Foundation website, including a printable order form. Proceeds benefit the WG Performing Arts Boosters.

It’s buried in the Sharks news digest from a few days ago, but it was a nice moment between periods last Sunday night when the San Jose Sharks — along with the four other Bay Area major league sports franchises — honored high school student-athletes in their competitive sports scholarship program.

San Jose’s professional hockey team honored WG’s Mohamed Abdalla with its award:

BAY AREA SPORTS TEAMS TO PRESENT LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS

In a collective effort to support youth working towards the goal of higher education, Bay Area professional sports franchises, including the Golden State Warriors, Oakland Athletics, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants and San Jose Sharks, have teamed up for the 12th year of the Bay Area All-Star Scholarship Team (BAASST). As part of this program, the first of its kind among professional sports teams, five high school seniors have been selected to receive a $3,000 scholarship to be applied toward their college education.

Each Bay Area sports franchise will recognize this year’s five Bay Area All-Star Scholarship Team recipients in a ceremony this year. The first ceremony is set for Sunday, March 16 when the recipients will be honored during a special in-game ceremony during the San Jose Sharks vs. Edmonton Oilers game at HP Pavilion at San Jose. A representative from each Bay Area sports organization will be in attendance to participate in each ceremony.

The 2008 BAASST recipients are Joshua Ortiz of De Anza High School in Richmond (Oakland A’s), Lauren Hunt of Calistoga Junior Senior High School in Calistoga (Oakland Raiders), Jasmine Nachtigall of Hillsdale High School in San Mateo (San Francisco 49ers), Elaine Chow of Galileo Academy in San Francisco (San Francisco Giants) and Mohamed Abdalla of Willow Glen High School in San Jose (San Jose Sharks).

Students were selected from high schools within nine Bay Area counties, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma. Each high school was provided with information about this scholarship and was encouraged to nominate candidates that met the following criteria: a minimum grade point average of 3.0, displays leadership qualities in the classroom and/or inspirational qualities on the athletic field and demonstrates the value of education, good work ethic and community outreach.

It’s great to see high school athletes honored like this, but only $3,000? … that’s not going to go very far …

With Easter and Spring Break falling so early this year, you might wonder what you’re going to do with all of your free time in April … Please allow the Willow Glen Foundation to make a humble suggestion:

The Willow Glen Performing Arts Boosters in cooperation with the Children’s Musical Theater presents…

The Leader of the Pack

April 3, 5, 6, 10, 11 & 12

All shows start promptly at 7:30 pm in the WGHS Cafeteria.

A fun musical for the whole family! Don’t miss this year’s Spring Production

And … you can buy your tickets online … which is pretty cool, too. Tickets will be available at the door, for non “sold-out” performances.

Don’t take a chance! Buy your tickets ahead of time online!