MAP Boosters News
February 2015
In this Issue:
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MAP Needs Your Help!
MAP Program News—So Much to Report!
Are We Alone? Dr. Jill Tarter Enraptures SHS Audience
Mark Your Calendars!
Is Your MAP Student Looking for an Internship?
MAP Alum Spotlight—Kunaal Mithal, SHS Class of 2014
2014-2015 MAP Boosters Board
MAP Needs Your Help!
By Dave Holt, MAP Boosters President
Congratulations and thank you to all parents who donated to MAP Boosters in Fall 2014. We received
$18,959 in donations, a 9% increase over donations in the same period, prior year. If you haven’t yet
donated, please consider doing so. The MAP program is providing an outstanding education to our
students and this is only made possible through donations from MAP Boosters.
This begs the question of what do MAP Booster funds get spent on? We are a highly efficient, all
volunteer 501(c)3 corporation. By far, most of your donations go to purchase equipment and software
needed in the day to day operation of the SHS Media Arts Program. Some small portion of funds is
allocated to other SHS Media Arts Program financial needs. This year, MAP faculty has asked MAP
Boosters to help fund the following equipment and software needs:
Trial of Software/Training for Student Product Certifications
$1,500
14-15 Student Scholarships
$2,500
21st Century Digital Classroom Upgrades
$10,000
10 new DSLR Cameras
$7,500
Lens Kits for DSLR
$3,000
4 New Portable Lighting Kits
$1,000
Advanced Studio Lighting
$5,000
In-Class iPad Sets
$30,000
33 New Classroom Computers
$70,000
New Microphones
$1,200
New Tripods
$1,000
10 New 32GB Camcorders
$3,500
Total:
$136,200
So, as you can see, our almost nineteen thousand is very short on filling these needs. If you have
already given, thank you! If you have not, please consider making a donation to support this
groundbreaking program. A donation (Membership) form is attached. Also, many employers in Silicon
Valley match donations. Check to see if your employer does so and make sure to let us know! We’ll
follow up. Saratoga Media Arts Program Boosters is a 501(c)3 corporation, Tax ID: 27-3204451. Your
donation is 100% tax deductible.
Additionally, if your company is publicly traded, there may be tax benefits to your donating stock. We
received a generous stock donation in December and are very grateful!
We are also looking for volunteers to help as follows:
Video Production – We’d like to make a MAP Video that is professional quality, short in length, but
emphasizes the advantages of our groundbreaking program.
SMASH’N Chair – At the end of each school year, SHS MAP has its own “Academy Awards” called
SMASH’N. All of the video production work is completed by the faculty. We are looking for a parent
volunteer who will organize the event, helping to coordinate and host our judges for the evening and
who will coordinate with the MAP Booster Communications Chair.
President Elect – This parent volunteer will replace me as the President of the organization for the
school year 2015-2016. HELP!   
Mock Interviewers – MAP 10 Career Awareness Unit -- On March 31, the MAP 10 students will
participate in mock job interviews. We are looking for 10-12 adults to serve as “employers” during
these interviews. All parents, regardless of work background, are invited to participate. Students will
have prepared resumes and been instructed on strong interviewing skills. You or anyone you might
know who might be interested in this type of activity will provide feedback to the students about their
“performance.” We will recognize our best interviewees at SMASH’N in late May.
Please contact me at [email protected] if you can help with any of these positions.
MAP Program News--So Much to Report!
By Kerry Mohnike, Assistant Principal and MAP Boosters Faculty Liaison
Curriculum Updates: MAP is excited to offer two new additions to the program. At the 9 th grade level,
students who enroll in English 9 MAP may enjoy in a new elective course, “Media Design and
Production.” This course is not required to be considered for the full 10-12 program, but can serve as a
great place to continue the interest in media generated during the middle school years. Because it is
not required, we would also encourage students to try things like Animated Graphics or Multimedia
Journalism (MMJ-SHSTV). MMJ-SHSTV course is only open to students with media experience on
recommendation from Mr. Stefan—typically students who have been a part of the GNN class at
Redwood. The new 9th grade class, MDP, will expose students to fundamentals of photographic
composition, professional presentation, communication and collaboration through the media lens. The
senior course, MAP Senior Media Lab, is a new required component of the MAP 12 program. This
course will support the senior capstone project, college and professional portfolio development, and
advanced media skill building.
Field Trips: Co-curricular and extra-curricular outings are in full swing during the spring semester. On
March 6 there is the Seniors’ Amazing Race trip to San Francisco. Seniors spend the day in teams
scouring the city for literary and historical sites and producing on the spot media projects. This is a
favorite activity for the group—they just don’t know it yet! Juniors are gearing up for the March 18-22
trip to media superhub, Los Angeles. The itinerary is almost completely confirmed with trips to USC’s
Zemekis Center and film school, Chapman’s Dodge College, California Science Center (for media in
science), Warner Bros. Studios, Universal Studios, the Paley Center for Media, the Grammy Museum,
Hollywood and Vine, the Griffith Observatory (near the Hollywood sign) as well as some fun with
Serrano the Musical (a new on-its-way-to Broadway musical based on Cyrano de Bergerac),
ComedySports, a dinner cruise out of Marina del Rey, and many other short media stops. It’s a
whirlwind of exposure to the world of media. We have 80 students attending this 4-day/night trip. A
few students may be joining us a day later because of sports commitments, so please be sure your travel
arrangements have been made! Our MAP 10 students are not left out from the activities coming up
with their trip to LinkdIn in April. Finally, our first-ever senior capstone event will happen May 15-17.
Staff is already planning the events that will lead to a memorable end to the 3-4 years students have
spent in MAP. Students will travel to Asilomar on the Carmel coast for this event.
“Fishbowls”: One of the regular practices that happen at all levels of MAP is that of “fishbowls.” During
these project-culminating activities, student projects are screened in class and students rotate in and
out of the “fishbowl” giving feedback and asking questions of the project creators. Faculty model the
technique during the projects early in the year, and students then step into the bowl and become peer
critics. Feedback from fishbowls is used to revise or modify projects. The projects in fishbowls become
the candidates for our end of the year awards night, SMASH’N.
Sophomore Screenwriting Unit: MAP 10 students have added a short screenwriting unit to their Media
Arts 1 class. Kerry Mohnike, a student of Robert McKee’s master-work and a screenplay hobbyist, had
the chance to work with the teachers and students on story development and screenwriting basics.
Students have since set off to begin their second semester film projects in a firm place to construct
character and conflict angles. It all begins with the writing, so giving students a foundation in what it
takes to make a story translatable to actors, directors, and tech crews is something for which all in
workers in media can gain an appreciation.
Lab Access after School: The Los Gatos-Saratoga Recreation Department is still working to hire an afterschool staff member to allow for more open lab time for our students. A partnership between the
district and the Rec Department will yield more opportunities for our students to take enrichment
classes as well. We are getting closer to being able to announce the specifics and will keep you posted
once that position is filled.
MAP Students Work as Hollywood Production Assistants: Ten MAP 12 students were able to go on set
with a Hollywood production of a film about the late Steve Jobs. Shooting in the Bay Area over the next
6 weeks, the film crew was looking for extras. Five of the ten students were asked to work as
Production Assistants (PAs) once the crew learned they were from a Media Arts program. The film,
starring Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, and Seth Rogen is set for a 2016 release. Word is that MAP
students were so good, the director wants them back for the next shoot in March. The PAs even earned
a paycheck. The other students participated as part of an audience scene and were able to see
production from an atypical vantage point.
Are We Alone? Dr. Jill Tarter Enraptures SHS Audience
Dr. Jill Tarter, astronomer and astrophysicist with the SETI Institute, spoke to a standing-room-only
audience of students, parents, and teachers. The talk, held on January 15 in the SHS Library, was cosponsored by MAP Boosters and SHS PTSO. Dr. Tarter was featured in Carl Sagan’s movie Contact,
starring Jodie Foster, is the recipient of numerous awards and a TED speaker, and was named one of the
most influential people of the year by Time magazine. Her talk focused on her life-long search for
extraterrestrial life. “It’s just unpredictable what we’ll find,” she said. “I expect to be surprised in the
future. I expect you to be surprised.” After her prepared remarks and the scheduled Q&A session, she
was still surrounded by students and parents eager to ask questions and perhaps snap a photo! If you
missed this exciting event, you can read the detailed transcription attached to this newsletter.
Mark Your Calendars!
April 16-- MAP Speaker Series -- The next MAP Pathways to Success Speaker Series event will be held on
April 16 at 6pm. More details to follow. Past speakers have all provided invaluable career and life
advice to our students, regardless of the speakers’ specific career paths. Free of charge and all are
welcome. Students should check with their teachers about extra credit.
May 29-- SMASH’N: Each spring MAP showcases the best student work in film, digital animation, digital
photography, and multi-media journalism. This year, the Academy Awards-style event known as
SMASH’N (Saratoga Media Arts Showcase and Honors Night) will be held on May 29 at 7pm in the
McAfee Center.
Is Your MAP Student Looking for an Internship?
Media internships in the San Jose area:
https://www.internmatch.com/s/media-internships/san-jose-ca
Internship opportunities for high school students, courtesy of Cupertino High School:
http://www.chs.fuhsd.org/cms/page_view?d=x&piid=&vpid=1253769127569
Jobs through Teen Force, an organization started by a Los Gatos man:
http://www.teenforce.org/
MAP Alum Spotlight – Kunaal Mithal, SHS Class of 2014
What are you doing now?
I am attending Keio University, a four year research university in Japan. I am studying information
technology and globalization, with a focus on business and management.
How have you applied what you learned in MAP?
I think the most important skill that I learned from MAP that I now apply is communication skills. In any
job or situation, the ability to express yourself and work with other people is absolutely necessary.
Communication in groups is not easy, and I remember several times where my MAP classmates and I
thought it was inefficient to work with others. But over time and especially now, I have realized that
being able to communicate well not only makes people likable, but leaders.
What are your career plans?
I plan to do international business and consulting for companies in the U.S and Japan. I want to find
companies with world changing technology and ideas, and successfully help them enter the market
globally. I plan to work for a few years after university, then possibly do a masters in business. But my
end goal is to start my own company that would connect the two countries.
What else would you like to add about the MAP program?
I think MAP is a program that is absolutely life changing for those students who really put time into it.
There are several students I have talked to who have said that they would not want to be at SHS were it
not for MAP. I think it is a great opportunity for students to learn life applicable skills, and to find what
they really want to do in life. A MAP student does not have to just stick with film or media as a career.
There are many people, myself included, who have chosen different paths, but still use the skills that
MAP has given us.
2014-2015 MAP Boosters Board
President
Dave Holt
[email protected]
President Elect
OPEN
Fundraising Coordinator
Maria (Milagros) Cardich
[email protected]
VP Communications
Carol (Carie) Schulz
[email protected]
Secretary
Anne Walsh
[email protected]
Treasurer
Stacy Alexander
[email protected]
MAP Faculty Liaison
Kerry Mohnike
[email protected]
PTSO Liaison
Joanne Makeever
[email protected]
Webmaster
Mark Peebles
[email protected]
Membership Database
Jean Poo
[email protected]
Corporate Liaison
Corinne Vita
[email protected]
Matching Gift
Coordinators
Dr. Nagesh Vempaty
Hartuti Peebles
[email protected]
[email protected]
Events Coordinators
Julie Peck
Sheetal Seth
[email protected]
[email protected]
SMASH’N Chair
OPEN
Video Production
OPEN