I’VE lost track of how many times my six-year-old daughter Sam has watched “High School Musical” and “High School Musical 2″ in all their different versions (original, What’s What, Sing-Along, etc.) on the Disney Channel and on DVD, and I can tell you that all she’s waiting for is October to watch “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” in the movie house.

Yup, unless you’ve been hiding under a rock or aren’t a parent, you know that the highly successful Disney Channel Original Movie is going to the big screen this October. Needless to say, I expect this movie to be a big hit — it’s just a question of how big. Judging by Sam and her friends and classmates, a lot of kids and young people absolutely love the “High School Musical” series, as well as “Hannah Montana” and, lately, “iCarly.”

Here’s a look at the “High School Musical 3″ trailer courtesy of TV Guide’s YouTube channel.

UPDATE: The latest Associated Press report stated that Vanessa has apologized to her fans and that Disney is sticking with her. Disney Channel spokeswoman Patti McTeague was quoted in the article as saying, “Vanessa has apologized for what was obviously a lapse in judgment. We hope she’s learned a valuable lesson.”

NOW this news just breaks my heart.

Vanessa Hudgens is a sweet and talented actress and singer. She’s one of the most recognizable and bankable young stars today after the enormous success of “High School Musical” and its recently released sequel.

On a more personal note, she’s also been a source of pride for Filipinos — she’s part-Filipina, her mother being Gina Guangco. And she also happens to be the favorite actress of my five-and-a-half-year-old daughter Sam, along with Vanessa’s “HSM” co-star Zac Efron.

Her promising career, however, is now mired in controversy after a nude photo of her made its way to the Internet and the blogosphere. Now media outlets are saying that her publicist has confirmed that the photo is indeed hers.

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