The LPS-Richmond
PUMA Newsletter
Go Pumas!!!
January 2009
ADMINISTRATION:
Shawn Benjamin: Principal
Jamie Kim: Lower School Dean
Jesse Madway: Upper School Dean
Shree Ram: Intervention Counselor
Julia Hollinger: Academic Dean
Omar Bryan: Campus Supervisor
Ximena Montes: School Manager
Sara Wolfe: Enrollment & Outreach
Andy Hatcher: After School Program
Marvin Figueroa: College Counselor
TEACHERS:
Felicia Cinquegrana: Art
Vinicio Merlino: Biology
John Mullen: Chemistry
CJ Cretien: Physics
Peter Baer: English
Andy Hatcher: English
Catailn Kaser: English
Van Lac: English
Katelyn St. John: English
Julia Hollinger: English
Victor Aguilera: History
Adam Kondonijakas: History
Arminda King: Math
Chris Rozeville: Math
Sophia Thomas: Math
Jesse Williamson: Math
Gustavo Jimenez: Spanish
Josh Cristantiello: Spanish
Taylor Garland: Resource
Julie Christensen: Reading
Please Note:
Our New Address as of
December 19, 2008!!
LPS Richmond
251 S. 12th St.
Richmond, CA 94801
(Behind Nystrom Elementary)
Issue 4, Volume 1
Note from the Principal
Greetings Families,
The LPS teaching and administration staff hope you and your family had a
wonderful holiday season. We are now located in our new facility on 251 S.
12th Street. We are very excited about this new facility, as it will provide
many enhancements in comparison to our previous site. As you know, LPS
Richmond, including students, teachers, administrators, and home office
employees, have been working hard over the last few years to find this site
for us.
Please come visit us at the PGA meeting on Monday, January 12 at 6:30pm.
We look forward to sharing our new home with you. This meeting will also
be a great opportunity for you to meet the parents of our new students that
will join us in the fall of 2009. As you can see, we are doing everything we
can to improve upon our already strong school culture. We hope you can
make it to the meeting!
Wishing you the very best in this New Year!
Sincerely,
Ms. Benjamin
_______________________________________________________________________________
Community Service Opportunities
How are you getting involved and earning your 35 hours of community service?
Here are some ways!!
* House of Hope: St. Marks Church: Volunteers needed for committees, office assistance and
special events. Call 234-5886 for more information.
* Familias Unidas: Volunteer at the Youth Center
* Habitat For Humanity: Work with a team to help build a house for a family in need.
* Volunteer at your local church, YMCA, library, pre-school, etc.
* Volunteer at Richmond Library: Contact Angela at 510-620-6562
Important Dates to Remember!!!!
• Monday, January 12: PGA meeting and Orientation for new parents
at 6:30pm
• Monday, January 19: No School: MLK, Jr. Day
• Thursday, January 22: A FULL day of school
• Tuesday, January 27: Sophomores Going to College Evening
For more info visit: www.LPSrichmondpumas.com * phone: 510-235-4522 * Fax: 510-588-4593
 Get Involved:
* Alateen Meetings every Tuesday
for students whose lives are impacted by
a family member's or close friend's
alcoholism. Meetings are confidential.
Students must see Ms. Ram if they are
interested.
* Peer Listening Program begins
in January! 10th-12th graders are
eligible to be Peer Listeners after
completing a comprehensive application
that includes essay questions and two
teacher recommendations. Isis Espinosa,
Bithia Villalobos, and Jeanette Munoz
are founding members and helped
develop the application. All students
will complete a day and 1/2 training
with Ms. Hollinger and Ms. Ram.
College Column
Greetings parents:
In the month of December our seniors
have continued climbing the wall of
success.
Five of our seniors were accepted and
received scholarships to attend Holy
Names University.
Zoe Hawk- Pratty received $40,000
Johanna Moran- received $36,000
Carla Lopez- received $32,000
Paulene Rejano- received $34,000
Karen Perez- earned $54,000
Another twenty of our students earned
admissions into California State
University- East Bay.
The College Office awaits other
exciting responses.
~Marvin Figueroa
College Counselor
510-235-4522 ext219
Sports and After School Activities
LPS Richmond Pumas 2008-2009 Basketball
Schedule
Jan 8 & 10 @ Urban Basketball Tourney AWAY
Jan. 13 vs. LPS Hayward (4:30) HOME
Jan. 15 @ Quarry Lane High School (5:00) AWAY
Jan. 30 vs. Summerfield Waldorff (4:30) HOME
The After School Program will be new and improved at our Nystrom
school site! We are making a few interesting changes, including a new
name. Your New Year's resolution should be to get involved in our
after school programming in January. New students are always
welcome!
The LPS Richmond Lady Pumas Basketball team is currently having
practice. All interested students should talk to Ms. Cinquegrana, the
art teacher. It's not too late to join.
________________________________________________________________________________
Enrollment Update
• We have already received many applications for the 2009-2010
school year. Please be sure to tell your friends and families that we
are filling up and need applications as soon as possible.
• Our first enrollment “lottery” will be on Friday, January 9, 2009. If
applications are turned in before this date, it will be very likely that
there will be a spot for your child.
____________________________________________________________
PGA Announcements
The next PGA meeting will be on Monday, January 12, 2009 from 6:30-
7:30pm. This meeting will include families of upcoming students. Please
be sure to attend (and your child gets a FREE DRESS PASS) so that you
can share your knowledge and tell other families about your experiences at
LPS!!!
We Need Your Support!!!
PLEASE RATE OUR SCHOOL AT:
www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/ca/12278
For more info visit: www.LPSrichmondpumas.com * phone: 510-235-4522 * Fax: 510-588-4593