Monarch Memo

February 27 - March 3, 2017

Welcome back to our Catalina participants.  Another great week for our pride of Monarchs.  Thank you for all you do to make MVHS a special place and build connections with our students.

Our Cheer Squad supporting our Varsity Girls’ Basketball at Santana.  Monarch Stars

Drumline building connections at Spring Valley Academy. Zach Petrie “Laurels for Leaders”

Budget Update from MVHS

It looks like the next Board Meeting where budget decisions will be made is scheduled for March 9th. This means we are likely getting news the following day regarding any layoff notices.  Thank you for your patience.  

REMINDERS

1. I (Marietta) will be on a WASC visit in Pasadena from February 26 - March 1.  As you are aware, this team works/writes around the clock.  I will not be able to check or respond to emails until I return on March 2nd.  Please contact Rad, Joe or Bill if you need anything.
2. ASSETS timesheets are due to Tom Gochenour's mailbox no later than February 28, 2017.
3. Nominations are open for the 2017 Teacher of the Year. Please nominate a Monte Vista teacher who you feel would be deserving of the 2017 Teacher of the Year award. We will accept nominations until 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 28, 2017. We will then open voting on March 1, 2017. Elections will close March 7, 2017
4. New substitute system begins March 1

Starting Wednesday March 1 all substitutes will be ordered through AESOP (Also known as Frontline).  All teachers were given the instruction sheets in a hard copy at the end of last week and have also been sent an electronic copy through their email.  FYI:  All substitutes have also been sent a hard copy to their home address as well as their GUHSD email account.   

THE MOST IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR TEACHERS:  

REMEMBER TO INCLUDE THE SPECIFIC START AND END TIME WHEN ORDERING A SUBSTITUTE. THE DEFAULT IS THE BEGINNING AND END OF THE SCHOOL DAY.  

District PD Opportunity

Trauma Sensitive Schools (TSS) training is a two-hour course that gives an introductory level understanding of what trauma is and the impact trauma has on a person.  

Monday, March 13, 3:30-5:30 pm

Trainers: Michele Estill and Phillip Lumula

Registration Link:  bit.ly/guhsdpd

Parent message sent home on Sunday, February 26, 2017

For your planning purposes, our next minimum day is Wednesday, March 8.  Period 7 ends at 12:17 p.m.

Parents we are already planning ahead for next year. It is important for you to know that students are meeting with guidance counselors to begin the process of selecting courses for the 2017-2018 school year. Please ask your student to see their paperwork and log on to Infinite Campus with them to check out their choices on Academic Planner. Please contact your guidance counselor for questions or more information. The meeting schedule is as follows: 11th grade: February 23 - March 10,

10th grade: March 7 - March 17 and 9th grade: April 4 - April 7.

Reserve a yearbook for your child today!  We only have a limited number of yearbooks. Once we sell out we do not order more.  Books are $90.00 and can be purchased in our Finance Office or online in our student store.
Parents, if you would like your 9th or 10th grade child to participate in Camp Lead, the last session is March 30-April 1st.  The deadline to sign up in the Guidance Center is March 24.  
The Juniors vs Seniors Powderpuff Game is right around the corner. All students must have signed waivers in order to participate. There is a lunchtime meeting on February 28th.  The game is Friday, March 31st - Mark your calendars!"
Senior parents please remember this is the last week to submit your FAFSA application for State aid. The deadline is March 2. The Guidance Center is available to assist you.  
Also, Senior parents, this is the time to purchase a Senior Ad page in the yearbook devoted solely to your child. For more information, go to our webpage and click on the banner on the top.  Full pages are $175.00 and 1/2 pages are $90.00. You design and pay for your page online.  Senior ad sales end March 27th.  
Have a great week Monarchs.  

Monarch Memo

February 20-24, 2017

A thank you to all the staff members who made the Frosh Showcase a big success.  We appreciate all the teachers, staff, parent volunteers, student leaders and student performers for taking the time to speak to parents, answer questions, lead campus tours, serve food, perform, set up and clean up after.  Robin McGrew did a wonderful job organizing the event (Kudos to Debbie Montana, too).  Thank you to Rad for doing a wonderful job as the Admin. overseeing the entire event.  Also, a big shout out to Bill for always being our master griller.

Unity Days could not happen without all the wonderful teachers and staff members who take the time to support our students and lead a group.  All this could not happen without the heart and passion of Tracy Leota.  Thank you Tracy for your hard work and dedication to making this day special for our students. Tracy is also a main contributor and leader at CAMP LEAD.  We are so fortunate to have such giving and leaders on campus who go above and beyond the work day to support students.  Thank you Tracy.  

What’s New?

Dr. Glover sent out a budget update message to families and staff this past week.  Here is the link:

https://goo.gl/SSCCMi

Budget Update from MVHS

At this point, there is no news to share on next steps and how cuts will trickle down to sites.  My best guess that we may here something this week.  As soon as I hear, I will let you know. Thank you for your patience and understanding.  

New Substitute System

Please keep an eye out for an email and hard copy letter introducing and welcoming staff to the new substitute system called AESOP.  The district plans to go LIVE on March 1st.  

District Auditor Message

“Teachers and staff are not allowed to sell food items to students within their classrooms/office. Ed Code 51521 prohibits these types of sales.” It has come to their attention that individuals on sites are violating this and the district will take action.  

REMINDERS/FYI

1. Six week grades are due Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. Six week grades are not optional and teachers must also include a conduct grade. Students will remain in their current Advisory this week and the next cycle of Advisory based on 6 week grades will begin on Tuesday, February 28th.
2. Please email Marietta by this Friday if you are interested in being on a Task Force for organizing/restructuring Advisory.
3. I (Marietta) will be on a WASC visit in Pasadena from February 26 - March 1.  As you are aware, this team works/writes around the clock.  I will not be able to check or respond to emails until I return on March 2nd.  Please contact Rad, Joe or Bill if you need anything. Please note that there may be No Monarch Memo next week.  Thanks for your understanding.  

This week at MVHS

Tuesday, February 21 6th week grades (and conduct) are due to Gracia at 8:00 a.m.  

Tech PD periods 2-3, 4-5, 6-7.  Any questions, ask Travis.

Girls’ CIF Basketball playoffs 7:00 p.m. vs. Santana as SHS.

Wednesday, February 22 Girls’ CIF Soccer playoff 5:00 p.m. at Monte Vista

PIQE - Parent classes, every Wed. 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. until April 5

Thursday, February 23 School Site Council 3:15 p.m. in Guidance Center Conference Room.

Music Dessert Concert, 6:00 p.m. in Room 701, $5.00

Congratulations to. . .

The Monarch Theatre competed in the 2017 San Diego Theatre Educators Association Dramafest Scene and Monologue competition held at Grossmont College last weekend. MVHS took three scenes and two monologues. Congratulations to Julie Benitez and our students.

Monologues:  Tristin Beery and Jamie Boyd

Scenes:   Brandon Kincaid/ Jonathan Kooyman, Aubrie Ibasco/Zaina Price, and Jake Strohl/Olivia Tavernelli

FYI: We went to the Final Round with two monologues (Tristin and Jamie) and a scene (Jake/Olivia), and Jamie Boyd came home with the 3rd Place monologue.

Jonathan Geraci and the Academic League teams for a great season. Try to catch a match when you can.  These students are amazing.  

All of our winter sports teams and their coaches.  Wrestling, Girls’ basketball and Girls’ soccer are continuing this week.  Please come support basketball at Santana @ 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday and soccer here at Monte Vista @ 5:00 p.m.  They would love to see their fans in the stands.  We will keep you posted on wrestling.

Monarchs in Action

Ken Palmer takes our students to participate in the San Diego Sports Fishing Program for Kids. Students are out to sea for six hours; four hours are spent fishing and the other two traveling to bait tank and fishing spots. Thanks Ken!

Parent message sent home on Sunday, February 19, 2017

Just a reminder that tomorrow there is no school in observance of President Washington’s birthday.  

Our Superintendent, Dr. Tim Glover, has sent out a memo to all parents and employees regarding the projected budget shortfall for the 2017-18 school year.  Please read this memo as is outlines a projected 11 million dollar cut for our school district. The memo is posted on the News and Events section of the Monarch website. We will keep you posted on the status of the district budget as we get closer to it being finalized in May and June.

Congratulations to our girls’ basketball and soccer teams; they have advanced to CIF playoffs this week.  Please join us Tuesday, February 21 at 7:00 p.m. for basketball at Santana High School and here at Monte Vista for soccer on Wednesday, February 22 at 5:00 p.m.  Join us for some musical entertainment on Thursday, February 23 at 6:00 p.m. for a dessert concert with our Music Department in Room 701.  The cost is $5.00.  

We have many talented artists here a Monte Vista. Congratulations to Delany Fonseca and Marisol Garibay who entered visual arts pieces in the PTSA Art Reflections contest and both received Honorable Mention.  Their art will be on display March 3rd at the PTA Reflections Reception at the SD County Office of Education.

Four more Monarchs have had their artwork accepted into a very selective juried art show hosted by the San Diego County Art Education Association. Congratulations goes to Rook Carey and Monica Sandoval in the 2D art category and Carissa Zink and Jesus Zuniga for the 3D art category.  The exhibit is on display at Francis Parker's Rose Gallery until March 5th.

The six week grading period is coming up.  Students and families, please communicate with each other on progress in your classes and check Infinite Campus regularly to check on the status of assignments and grades.

Have a great week Monarchs. We will see you on Tuesday morning.  

Monarch Memo

February 14-17, 2017

Happy Valentine’s Day

Thank you to all the staff members who have signed up for Unity Days and Showcase this week. These important events could not happen without you!

Congratulations to Eric Wilson who has been voted a Silver Star winner for “Best Teacher” in the East County Californian, Best of East County’s Readership Poll.  Way to go Eric.

Congratulations to Denise Broadfoot who is the proud grandma of Eloise Charlotte Vollon born on February 12 at 2:56 a.m., 20 inches and 7.2 pounds. We are happy for you and your family Denise.
Just a reminder that the services for Rad’s dad, Donald Radmilovich will be at the United Methodist Church, 211 Camino Del Rio South on Sunday, March 5th

at 12:30 p.m.

What’s New?

Please welcome our long-term Spanish substitute,  Maxine Logan.  She has taken over the course schedule for Ms. Cervantes-Briones.  Our hiring plan for this open position mid-year did not turn out as expected.  We plan to post for this position closer to the end of the year when we get a larger pool of applicants who are ready to join our staff in the fall.

Period 3 teachers please select a student for The Student Congress

Teachers, per Article VI Section 3 of the ASB Constitution, The Student Congress shall be comprised of one representative from each third period class. Representatives may be elected or appointed by the classroom teacher. Please touch base with your class this week and add your student representative to the Google Doc that I will be sharing with you. At times, these representatives may need to meet during period 3, however, for the purpose of WASC feedback, I will invite them to meet during Advisory.  Please complete the Google document with the name and grade of your student representative by Friday, February 17th.  Thank you.

Advisory Brainstorming

Thank you to the staff members who attended these brainstorming sessions.  There have been many ideas and suggestions.  A few examples include: moving Advisory to earlier in the day; renaming Advisory; establishing positive reinforcement for attendance and grade improvement; setting clear, immediate and progressive consequences; establishing and clearly communicating expectations from the beginning of the school year for all stakeholders (students, staff,  teachers, admin, campus supervisors);  ensuring all stakeholders are part of making the system successful. We all must be accountable.  Also, it was discussed that all students must understand that attendance in Advisory is not an option.  It was suggested that all students attend an advisory, like in the past, during the first weeks of school. This sets the tone and routine for the school year.  These were just some of of the main topics, ideas shared.  

The next step is for us to get a team together to set the criteria and expectations to share back with staff. Please let me know if you are willing to volunteer your time to be a part of an Advisory Task Force. Thank you continuing to discuss and work on how we can make improvements to our instructional program.  Please keep these productive conversations going.   

REMINDERS  - Unity Days and Showcase reminders in parent all call message

Help us, help you via EMAIL - this was in last week’s MM also.  

Please help the administrative team help you when you need assistance.  When you have an issue, concern or question to email administration, please send the email to the person who is in charge of the program they oversee.  Help us all be more efficient by sending the email TO:  the person it is for. If you need the other members of Administration to know what is going on, please put these names in the CC area.  It is not required that you CC the rest of Admin.  We are pretty good about filling each other in on items that are critical.  If you feel something is timely or an emergency, please do not hesitate to reach all of us.  Thank you for helping us assist you more efficiently.

Monarchs in Action

Dr. H. Raul Romero speaking to Eng 8C classes of his Vietnam War experience as a medic. His story relates to the novel they are reading, Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers. (Feb 9, 2017) - Thank you for inviting him Ms. Oakley

Joey Provost represented         ASB at building     62 parents            Deanna                 Cheer Practice

Monte Vista at the GUHSD       community at SVA  attended PIQE      presenting at

Honor Band            session 1.              Hillsdale

Thank you for recognizing our Guidance Center and Counselors during their special week.

Great signs ASB.

PD Tech Opportunities here at Monte Vista

We have again coordinated with our District DLCs to offer three, 2 hour PD sessions during the school day on TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21. I will be roaming between sessions to support teacher learning. You can register for as many sessions as you like. Subs will be provided for you. The schedule is as follows:

• PERIODS 2 - 3: Grading with Online Rubrics...Made Easy! Learn how to paperlessly grade online student writing with digital rubrics using Goobric and Doctopus. Seamlessly assess and provide audio/textual feedback to students about their writing!
• PERIODS 4 - 5: New Google Sites - Double Trouble! Interested in using the New Google Sites to create or upgrade your teacher website? Want students to create Digital Portfolios (using Google Sites) that showcase their learning and development? The new Google Sites is for you!
• PERIODS 6 - 7: EdPuzzle: Turn Youtube Videos into Interactive Lessons, Assignments, and Checks for Understanding - Participants will complete an EdPuzzle task as a student, then see what it looks like from a teacher's perspective.  After an overview of how to create the videos and push them out through Google Classroom, participants will have time to create one or more videos that can be used for their specific subject area.

REGISTER HERE

Parent message sent home on Sunday, February 12, 2017

Just a reminder that there is no school tomorrow Monday, February 13 or next Monday, February 20 in observance of Presidents’ Day.  
This week we have two important events at Monte Vista.  First off we have our Showcase Night on Wednesday evening for all incoming freshmen and potential students.  If you have friends, neighbors or family members who are interested learning more  about our wonderful school, please tell them about Wednesday night.  Also, Freshmen will be participating in Unity Days on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Freshmen will be participating in activities that build community and encourage positive, ope human interactions that help us appreciate each other’s differences and unique characteristics. Freshmen who have PE periods 1 - 3 will attend on Wednesday, and those with PE periods 4 - 7 will attend on Thursday. Freshmen please wear comfortable clothing and shoes and leave all purses and backpacks at home on your assigned day.  
Parents, this is the last week for you to participate in our online California Healthy Kids Survey.  The link and code are located on our websites.  Also, last Wednesday we had 62 parents in attendance for our first night of PIQE classes.  This is wonderful, however, we have low attendance in our class for parents who prefer to take the classes in English.  If you are interested in attending, please come this week at 6:00 p.m. to room 118 to check it out.  
Seniors, the deadline to sign up for Grad Night is coming up on Tuesday, February 21st.  Please make sure you sign up this week.  Remember there is no school on the 20th.  Don’t wait until the last day.  
Congratulations to our girls’ water polo team who will be participating in their first round of playoffs at Valley Center on February 14.  Many spring sports tryouts are underway.  Please check out the banner on our website for the specific dates and times.  
The Grossmont Union High School District Superintendent, Dr. Tim Glover, has a weekly blog with articles about schools and events happening in our community.  This week he featured our automotive program and the accolades they received at a recent competition.  Please check out the blog at

http://newslineguhsd.blogspot.com/

Have a great Presidents’ Day tomorrow.  We will see you on Tuesday Monarchs.