Monarch Memo
August 7- 11, 2017
Welcome Back!
I hope your summer break was all that you expected. We look forward to seeing you all on Thursday, August 10. A big welcome to our new staff members Chelsea Lindley, Raul Guzman, Kristy Til, Annette Ramirez and Sarah Zoric. We will be introducing them at our first staff meeting.
For those who are new to Monte Vista, the Monarch Memo is a weekly blog that I send out typically on Sunday nights with reminders, calendar items and information for all staff. For parents and students, I will continue to send out all calls on Sunday evenings. Staff, if you have anything you need me to share with parents, please make sure to get this information to me by Friday each week. As for current notifications, all staff should have received an email from me last Friday with a brief welcome back letter and Professional Development schedule attached.
Summer is a busy time at MVHS. In addition to all the cleaning and minor repairs by our wonderful custodial team, the turf was replaced, the track resealed and most visibly, solar panels were installed in the north parking lot and field below. They are still working to complete these by the start of school.
Thank you to Saul and Bill for coordinating summer school and to our teachers, guidance and office staff for making sure all was running smoothly. In summer, Laura Preble, librarian, was notified that we were one of 10 schools to receive the Snapdragon for $4,000. Thanks for your efforts to write and receive this award Laura. http://snapdragonbookfoundation.org/application/2017-awarded-grants/
I am sure there are many great things that happened over summer and will happen during the course of the school year. In order for me to share your news, I need to know about it. Please do not hesitate to send a detailed blurb and/or photo my way.
We have a few transitions that have occurred over summer or will be occurring with staffing this fall. Rebecca Meyer, SPED collaboration teacher, resigned her position due to her family moving. Congratulations to Jen Wilson, Finance Tech, who will be moving over to Finance at Adult Education.
Jen’s great school spirit and amazing financial support will be greatly missed. She will be starting off the
school year with us for the first week or so until we hire a replacement. Jen will be back in the Finance Office at the end of the week so please wish her well and touch base with her regarding your club or athletic team’s financial needs.
If you have been on campus, you will notice that many people have been back working with students already. For example, fall sports tryouts, cheerleading and band practice are underway. Thank you to our coaches and band director, Katie. Our ASB, now under the direction of Leisa Petrie, has been meeting regularly and working hard. They will be here all this week. Ana Lara has been working with the Link Crew leaders and they are ready for the new Freshmen on Tuesday. We appreciate the ongoing work of our Guidance team who closes and opens the school year so effectively. We know many of you have been working over the summer to prepare for the school year. We appreciate all you do.
FRESHMEN ORIENTATION
Just a reminder that Freshman Orientation is next Tuesday. Each year Link Crew leaders utilize various classroom on campus from about 8:00 - 12:00 noon. It is requested that teachers do not work in their classrooms in this time window. If you have any questions about the time frame, please email Ana Lara.
Chromebook Distribution
The tech team will be meeting during the PD days to finalize the plans for distribution on Thursday, August 17 and Friday, August 18 to new students. Thank you to Jerry Guzman who has been working diligently to prepare all the Chromebooks for distribution. Due to new enrollees, getting Chromebooks distributed, and Chromebooks needing repair after summer use, we recommend that teachers not assign work requiring the use of the Chromebooks until after the second week of school. Before a student can receive a Chromebook, the parents will have to complete and sign the RUP (Responsible Use Policy) form that will be distributed the first days of school. Please look for an email from the Tech team for the details.
Unity Days
Freshmen Unity Days are scheduled for August 17 and August 18 however they are not minimum days for all students. We requested approval for the two minimum days back to back, but were denied based on the number of sequential instructional minutes required. More information about Unity Days will be coming your way from the Guidance Center.
MVHS Leadership Conference - “Leading with Pride”
The MVHS student leadership conference has been in the works since the end of last school year. This conference designed for club officers and students in leadership positions was developed and coordinated by Marisa Alvarado and Tom Gochenour. Unfortunately, the planned August 26th date will be rescheduled. Volunteers and teachers who have students who planned to attend, please watch for emails with updates on the conference.
Advisory and Freshmen Advisory
At the end of the school year I shared the following information with you.
In alignment with our safety, culture and climate efforts, both the Advisory Committee and Safety Committee addressed the need for a more effective Advisory system in the fall. As you may know, we are not able to change the length, placement in the day, or structure of Advisory without a vote of staff. Both committees were in agreement that we re-establish the initial structure of Advisory attendance ensuring all students with D’s and F’s (or F’s at least this fall) attend Advisory during the first four weeks of school. Since the assignment of Advisory for these students dropped off the last few years and consequences for not attending has not been followed through, not all students value or respect the Advisory period. Simply stated by both groups last year, staff feels as if students with failing grades should not be rewarded with a one hour lunch for the first four weeks of school if they did not pass a class the previous semester.
We are still in the process of working with the district and within Infinite Campus to generate the list of students who need study/tutorial time so they can be assigned an Advisory beginning the second week of school. They are working on this and we are hopeful it will be done. It is more complex due to new student schedules and last year’s grades. The time factor before the start of school is also a limitation. During the school year, the scheduling of students in Advisory typically takes many days to do because students must be hand scheduled into Advisories by Amanda Engstrand. We are hoping to do the scheduling electronically and not by hand.
Reposting what I shared with you in the spring. . .
Unlike the Advisory assignments throughout the year, we likely will not be able to place students with their current teacher in the subject where they are struggling. This is because many of our teachers will be teaching Freshmen Advisory. The goal is to have students, who received at least on F, assigned to one of their current teachers. Please be prepared to have students assigned to you who are not in your classes. Although we are not 100% sure we can make this work perfectly, we are going to try. We are also planning to set up a system for attendance in Advisory (for example, holding off on clearing for the first days) to more easily identify students to assign detention for skipping advisory. Any teachers who are willing to assist with Advisory in a supervisory role rather than in their classroom, please do not hesitate to contact me. We may need assistance in various organizational capacities.
If all goes well, the earliest that students could begin attending your Advisory is Tuesday, August 22nd. Until then you are welcome to take advantage of the Advisory time with 10th -12th graders for tutoring or club meetings. I will keep you posted on the status of Advisory as the weeks progress.
New MVHS Website
All schools and the district office now have a new website platform. Val and Travis worked collaboratively at the end of the year and connected over the summer with the district Tech Department to make sure the transition from the old site to the new one was seamless. Travis, will be taking on the role of webmaster this year. He has spent many hours prepping the new site for the launch. Travis will give staff members an overview of the site at one of our PD sessions on Monday. I want to thank Val (truly a tech master) for all the work she put into making our original website so detailed, user-friendly and visually appealing.
The new site is accessible at either address.
MVHS Events Calendar
We have a few online Google calendars that are accessible to students, parents and staff.
The Monte Vista Monarch calendar is what the parents and students can see on the website and includes school-wide events like Open House, Freshmen Showcase, Theater performances, Homecoming, awards assemblies, etc. The Home Campus Schedules calendar lists athletic events that are entered by our AD, Anessa Carroll. Both of these calendars appear on the Monte Vista website.
We also have an online Google calendar called MVHS Events that is accessible only to our staff. This Master Calendar not only includes the items on the Monte Vista Monarch calendar, but includes on site meetings for staff such as Site Governance, WASC meetings, Safety meetings, field trips and pull out days. All staff members will be receiving an email notification that the MVHS calendar has been shared with them.
Requesting Field Trips and Events
When a staff member plans to host an event or field trip, they must request approval. In the past, staff members would complete an approval form obtained from Kristine Miller’s (MSF) office. We will be transitioning to an online Google Form for requesting both field trips and events. Once approved these events and field trips will populate on the MVHS Events calendar. Please submit approval as least 4 weeks prior to the date of the event to allow yourself time to finalize logistics and meet deadlines. The list of students attending the event must be provided to Robin (AP Secretary) no later than 12 school days prior to the event so she can email the student lists to staff at least 10 school days before the event. If lists are not submitted by the deadline, the event can be canceled and will need to be rescheduled. Please remember that this applies to any event where students are being pulled from class, even if the event is on campus (spirit assemblies).
Please note:
For field trips, the transportation request form must still be completed separately and approved with Kristine.
Athletic teams do not need to complete the online events or field trip forms. Sports are not subject to the 10 day notice to staff for excuse from class.
Here are the links to both request forms.
There is more information to share at the PD Staff meetings and in future Monarch Memos.
Reminders and FYI’s
- Some of you may know that Bill Sullivan, Assistant Principal, will be having knee surgery on September 6th. We know he will be out for a few months at least. In his absence, Frank Luera from CTE, will be filling in during his absence. We will introduce Frank to you as we get closer to the transition.
- Make sure to wear your Staff ID (or name tag) on a lanyard or clip that is visible on a daily basis.
- Sign in daily on the clipboard in the main office when you arrive each day so we know you are on site in case of lock down or emergencies.
- We will be hosting the ALARM CLOCK PEP RALLY on KUSI for the Homecoming Assembly on October 6th. The assembly schedule will be shifted a bit for this day so we want to give you a heads up now. Thanks in advance to ASB for coordinating.
- ASSETs begins on August 21. Look for updates from Coordinator Tom.
Safety Committee and Updates
Week at a Glance See GUHSD website for district sponsored workshops
Monday, August 7 District New Teacher Orientation: August 7 (10:00 -12:00)
PTSA meeting, 5:30 p.m. Library Community room
Tuesday, August 8 Freshmen Orientation, 8:00 - 12:00 gym
Parent Boot Camp 8:00 a.m.
Hall of Fame Committee members meeting, 4:30 p.m
Wednesday, August 9 GEA New Teacher Orientation: August 9 (9:00 - 11:00)
Thursday, August 10, 11, 14 Professional Development - see agenda emailed Aug. 4
Tuesday, August 15 First Day of School, CPT, late start.
Wednesday, August 30 Back to School Night
CPT (late-start) Schedule REGULAR Day
Period 1 09:30 – 10:06 Period 1 07:15 – 08:06
Period 2 10:11 - 10:47 Period 2 08:11 – 09:02
Period 3 10:52 – 11:51 Period 3 09:07 – 10:01
Period 4 11:36 – 12:12 Period 4 10:16 – 11:07
Lunch 12:12 – 12:42 Period 5 11:12 – 12:03
Period 5 12:47 – 01:23 Advisory 12:08 – 12:34
Period 6 01:28 – 02:04 Lunch 12:34 – 01:04
Period 7 02:09 – 02:45 Period 6 01:09 – 02:00
Period 7 02:05 – 02:56
*Special assembly and minimum day schedules will be distributed prior to those events.
Here is the message sent home to parents on Sunday, August 6, 2017
Good Evening Monarch families, this is your principal, Mrs. Minjares with a few reminders before the start of school on Tuesday, August 15th.
Just a friendly reminder that all parents need to complete online registration now, each year. In the past, parents of returning students only had to do this once. This is now a yearly requirement. For those who have not registered on-line, please go to the Monte Vista (website (montevista.guhsd.net) under announcements or the GUHSD website under the parents tab. Once new incoming students are accepted through the registration process, an invitation to create a Campus Portal account is emailed to families. Please configure your account as soon as possible because this will give you access to your student’s attendance, schedule, and grades. If you have a returning student and do not have a Campus Portal account, call Application Support at (619) 956-4357 Monday through Friday from 7:00 am - 4:00 pm.
Returning students please make sure you have your Chromebook charged and that you turn on the computer a few times before the first day of school. There are many automatic updates that the computer must process and this can only happen if you turn on your computer. Ninth graders and new students to Monte Vista will be receiving their Chromebook the first week of school. In order to receive this computer, parents and students must sign and return the RUP (Responsible Use Policy) form that will be distributed the first two days of school. Please ask your student for this form so there is no delay in receiving your computer.
Returning 10th - 12th graders, don’t forget you can begin to check your class schedules on Infinite Campus starting Thursday, August 10. If there are any requests for schedule changes, students may drop in the Guidance Center on August 11 and 14 from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m only. Freshmen can come pick up schedules in the Guidance center on August 10th between 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. otherwise schedules can be picked up in the morning the first day of school.
Our new website has been launched (montevista.guhsd.net). Please take a look at it and navigate through all the tabs to become familiar with the format. The top of the website has all the information you need to access from the numerous drop down menus. Please continue to scroll down to the middle section of the Home page to find announcements and view our full calendar of events. At the bottom you will find more great links to stories and information on sports, pathways, Assets, Alumni and more.
The website has information on fall sports tryouts that are continuing this week. Please note that Boys’ water polo now begins tomorrow August 7. Girls tennis starts tomorrow at 3:15 p.m. and Cross country at 8:00 a.m. at the stadium.
Freshmen just a reminder that Freshmen Orientation is Tuesday, August 8. You need to report at 8:00 a.m. not 7:30 a.m. as shared on last week’s all call. Parents, there is a special parent boot camp just for you at 8:00 a.m as well. Please join us to get great information from our Guidance staff. We are looking forward to meeting you.
Look forward to more all calls with information next weekend. Enjoy your last week of summer break Monarchs.
Here is the message sent home to parents on July 31, 2017
Dear Monte Vista Families:
This is Principal Minjares welcoming you to the 2017-2018 school year. Welcome to our incoming Freshmen and new students and welcome back to our returning Monarchs. The first day of school is August 15th and we are looking forward to sharing in a fantastic school year.
For those new to Monte Vista, I want you to know that I send out weekly reminders via email, phone messages and sometime texts, to parents and students about upcoming events. Please make sure your phone number(s) and email address are current in Infinite Campus. Please expect these messages typically on Sunday nights as the school year progresses. Please sign up for our Remind 101 texts. Students text @17ce55 to area code (949) 544-1599. Parents, text @monarchp to area code (949) 544-1599. You will be pleasantly pleased at the amount of information and reminders you will receive. Our website is going through transition and will be in a new format. Please check in out and become familiar with how to navigate the menus to find the information you need.
We have some important information to share regarding fall sports try-outs.
Football try-outs begin on Tuesday, August 1. Varsity and JV at 1:00 p.m. and Freshmen at 3:00 p.m. on the football field. Boys Waterpolo begins on August 1 through August 3rd from 12:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. for all levels at the pool. Girls’ Volleyball try-outs for all levels takes place August 1st - 4th from 3:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. in the gym. Girls’ tennis, for all levels, will be Monday, August 7 at 3:15 p.m. at the courts. Those interested in Cross Country should report to the stadium on Monday, August 7 at 8:00 a.m.
Remember that all athletes must have turned in all clearance paperwork to the Student Support Center before trying out. Office hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Incoming Freshmen Orientation takes place on Tuesday, August 8 at 7:30 a.m. with parent orientation beginning at 8:00 a.m. in the Guidance Center. The 9th graders will be able to pick up their schedules on Thursday, August 10th from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. in the Guidance Center. The 10th - 12th grade students will be able to view their schedules on Infinite Campus starting August 10th. If there are any requests for schedule changes, students may drop in the Guidance Center on August 11 and 12 from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m only.
If you need assistance, it is best to contact us after August 3rd when many of our staff have returned from summer vacation. We look forward to seeing you soon Monarchs.
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