Monarch Memo
August 14 -18, 2017
On Monday we will have all staff members back on campus. Please remember to wear your new MV t-shirt. If you didn’t pick it up Thursday, we will be passing them out in the morning in the gym. We want to thank Kiwanis for cooking our pancake breakfast. We truly appreciate Kristine and her team for purchasing all the food and setting up/breaking down all the meals we have had during our PD days. Thank you Kristine and team. Smile - it is photo time in the gym. After photos, breakfast and the Superintendent’s Welcome, we have our staff meeting before breaking into two morning workshops.
Welcome to our new classified staff members who will be joining us on Monday, Sheryl Collins, Stephanie Johnson, Monique Lybarger, Robyn Malette.
A shout out to Mike Fleming. He is a semi-finalist for the 2017 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence. He is one of the top 54 top scoring applications to advance to the next round. Congratulations and keep us posted on the status.
Thank you to the teachers who volunteered to host Freshmen Advisory this year. We appreciate you supporting our Freshmen and Link Crew leaders as they work each day to build team and community with each other and campus-wide.
First day of school - Tuesday, August 15 - CPT late start
- Ninth grade student schedules will be handed out in the gym from 8-9:30 AM. They will be on white paper.
- Please Advise All Freshmen to keep their schedules with them all day for every class they attend.
- If a student cannot access his/her schedule or he/she lost it, please send the student to the Student Support Center, and Amanda will be in there printing schedules for these student from 8-9:30 AM..
- After 9:30 a.m. these schedules and I.D. Cards will go to the Assistant Principal's office, so if a student asks about where to pick up their schedule or I.D. Card and it is after 9:30 a.m., please send them to see Robin or Debbie.
- All 10th-12th grade students are expected to find their schedules in IC through the student portal. We have not printed any 10th-12th grade schedules.
- All students may pick up their ID cards in the gym from 8-9:30 AM.
Campus Safety
It is essential that we educate our students and continue to reinforce about our rules, policies and procedures both inside and outside of the classroom. We all need to tell and remind students where the boundaries are at lunch and advisory. The use of the Blue Slip/Hall Passes must be consistent in order to eliminate needless roaming around. Students must not be out of class unless absolutely necessary. They must not be excused early from class unless a teacher walks their class outside and supervises until the bell rings. Please note that ASB and yearbook students will continue to wear their lanyards as passes for their class responsibilities. Edgar will be sharing more information with you regarding safety and campus supervision at Monday’s staff meeting.
NEWSCAST - Once a week communication to our students - Wednesdays Period 3
The beginning of Period 3 is the preferred time for teachers to show the MV Newscast to all students. Having teachers show this, rather than leaving it up to the student to watch on their own, ensures that they received the information for the week. The ASB works hard to create this newscast which is designed to present the information in a manner that is entertaining to students. In addition to ASB news, there is typically information from administration and other departments that we need communicated. Parents know that we use this as a means to share information, deadlines and reminders to students. We count on and expect teachers to show this newscast every Wednesday. The MV Newscast is one of many important ways we build community.
***Mr. Teetzel will be supporting ASB in tech related matters including the newscast this year. He kindly asks that ASB be notified of all requests of Newscast submissions no later than the Thursday (6 days) before the air-date. Staff can email requests to monarchasb@gmail.com. They cannot guarantee every request can be accommodated but ASB will do their best.
Advisory School-wide
Due to the number of teachers covering Freshmen Advisory, inability of Infinite Campus to meet our scheduling requests and the short time before school starts to electronically process, we will not be able to assign the students who earned “F’s” last semester to advisories at the start of the school year. We will need to keep brainstorming ways to have the students who need to attend advisory, get assigned to advisory and attend their advisory from the very start of school.
All teachers (not teaching Freshmen Advisory) are expected to be in their classrooms during the Advisory period to provide assistance the first four weeks of school (office hours). The Advisory period is officially designated as instructional minutes in our day. Teachers please invite/encourage your students to attend. This is a great way to get to know your students and build relationships while getting them in the habit of attending each day. Perhaps some incentives to attend and work throughout the advisory period would get some of our students to see the benefits. I am playing around with some ideas. As you know, what truly draws the students to the classroom is the relationships they build. It is evident, from the video clips of our students that Jacob Clifford shared, that our students value your unique qualities and the traditions you create in the classroom. Thank you for taking the time to do this and making our students feel comfortable and safe.
UNITY DAYS for 9th grade Thursday and Friday, August 17 and 18.
Remember that we are not on a minimum day schedule.
Freshmen with PE periods 1, 2, 3 will report to the gym on 8:00 a.m. Thursday.
Freshmen with PE periods 4, 5, 6, & 7 will report to the gym on 8:00 a.m. Friday.
Approximately 40 student leaders (upperclassmen) will be assisting with Unity Days.
Any additional information will be provided to you from Guidance.
CHROMEBOOK assistance for students - from Laura Preble
This year, I will only be doing repair /swapping of Chromebooks during periods 3 and 6. EXCEPTIONS to this are new students who have just enrolled and need Chromebooks. Week 1 will be an exception, but after that, please do not send students to the library for Chromebook needs OTHER THAN DURING PERIODS 3 AND 6.
The library will be open at 9 am on Tuesday help kids with Chromebook issues. Not any earlier.
Regular library hours will be periods 2-7. I will post a sign on the door so kids know what the hours are for this week. I will help kids with CB issues at any time this week that the library is open, although it will be closed Thurs. and Fri so we can distribute Chromebooks.
Kristine Miller has helped me create large posters to put in your rooms that give you specific steps to take to triage the most common Chromebook problems. Feel free to tell students to do these procedures to fix their issues. We will give these out on Monday and the PD Tech session late morning. More information to come.
**Covers for the 9th grade ACER Chromebooks will not be in until September. Please tell students to be very careful with their laptops.
SOLAR ECLIPSE August 21, 2017 information and resources - please share
A partial solar eclipse is happening in San Diego on Monday, August 21, 2017. The eclipse will start at 9:07 am, reach its maximum coverage at 10:23 am and end at 11:46 am.
Here are safety instructions that every student and staff member should know.
Never look directly at the Sun. You can seriously hurt your eyes, and even go blind. Proper eye protection, like eclipse glasses or a Sun filter, is the only safe option. Sunglasses don't work.
Please make sure your students understand the dangers of watching the eclipse without eye protection including the fact that sunglasses do not protect their eyes. Here is a link about how students can safely watch the eclipse. Please note that the article starts with what NOT to do and then follows up with how to safely view the eclipse. These options require preparation ahead of time so please look them over in advance if you are interested in participating. Franz Ruiz put together this list of resources for the solar eclipse. Please share!
Requesting Field Trips and Events? - see Monarch Memo, August 7- 11 for details.
Reminder, when students are pulled out of class, off or ON-SITE, it is a field trip and excuse lists must be turned in before the 2 ½ week deadline.
Here are the links to both request forms. Please access these on the MVHUB which is the first menu item listed on the top of the Monarch Memo.
Week at a Glance
Monday, August 14 7:30 a.m for pancakes and photos.
PD meetings, workshops, see schedule
Tuesday, August 15 First Day of School - CPT Late Start
9th grade schedules handed out 8:00 - 9:30 am in gym
Theresa Kemper, Assistant Supt., will be visiting classrooms during periods
1 and 2.
Thursday, August 17 Unity Day, 9th Grade, PE periods 1, 2, 3.
Friday, August 18 Unity Day, 9th Grade, PE periods 4, 5, 6, 7
Here is the message sent home to parents on Sunday, August 13, 2017
Good Evening Monarch families, school begins on Tuesday, August 15 and we have many reminders for you.
First of all, we are excited to have you back. We are fortunate to have such great kids and wonderful parents and staff who are all part of our Monarch family.
Tuesday is a CPT late start day, first period begins at 9:30 a.m. and period 2 at 10:11 a.m. This late start allows us to assist our incoming Freshmen with their transition that first morning.
All Freshmen may pick up their schedule and student ID card, if they had their picture taken at the Freshmen BBQ, in the gym from 8:00 - 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning.
All returning 10th, 11th and 12th graders, will need to check their schedule on Infinite Campus on Monday night to know where to report in the morning for their first class. We will not be printing schedules for upperclassmen so please write it down or print from home. If you are having trouble accessing your schedule, please go to the Student Support Center in the main office between 8:00 - 9:30 a.m. and we will assist you. Returning Monarchs we will have your ID to pick up in the gym between 8:00 - 9:30 a.m. so stop by when you get to school. You must bring your Chromebook to school so please make sure it is charged and turned on before you return so all updates will process.
Freshmen and new Monarchs will receive their Chromebooks later in the week. Parents, since your child will have their Chromebook for the next four years, we highly encourage the purchase the warranty insurance. The device warranty program covers 100% parts and labor, accidental damage, as well as theft. Warranty coverage can be purchased yearly, or in multi-year offerings at a discount and District staff will handle claims. For those families who decide to not opt-in to the warranty program will be responsible for reparation equal to the current replacement cost of the materials and/or repairs. Families have until September 15 to sign up. Please visit the Grossmont District webpage at http://futureforward.guhsd.net/insurance
Monarch families, did you know that a partial solar eclipse happening in San Diego on Monday, August 21, 2017. The eclipse will start at 9:07 am, reach its maximum coverage at 10:23 am and end at 11:46 am. There are dangers associated with viewing a solar eclipse that you need to discuss with your child. Please tell them to never look directly at the Sun. This can seriously damage eyes and cause blindness. Only authorized proper eye protection, like eclipse glasses or a Sun filter, is the only safe option. Sunglasses do not work. Attached to the email version of this message is a link with more information for you.
We will keep you posted on any and all information you may need for the first week of school. Please remember to sign up for our Remind 101 messages. The directions our on our website. We look forward to seeing our Monarchs on Tuesday morning.
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