Monarch Memo
Nov. 13 - 17, 2017
There is so much to be thankful for not only this time of year, but each day. We would love to know what you are all thankful for. I want to personally thank my Administrative team and front office team for all of their hard work this year. October was a particular challenging month so their constant professionalism and incredible patience is always greatly appreciated. A big THANK YOU to Paula Delgado who smoothly stepped into the role of AP for Bill Sullivan. We appreciate her compassionate but firm and effective approach with students. She has gone above and beyond by staying late and attending so many evening events. Paula is close to the end of her AP role. Bill says he is bored and hopes to return to the excitement of being an AP by coming back early on November 27th. We will see and we will keep you posted on his return.
Congratulations to the 43 PIQE parents and 7 students who graduated last Wednesday night. We appreciate the band for their performance and PTSA for hosting the dessert reception. Thank you to Kristy McRoberts for providing childcare, Olga Giorgi for being the parent liaison, Amanda Engstrand for providing in Title I support, Sam Sandoval for EL parent support, counseling team for meeting with all the parents, George Owitti for presenting, Julie, Sang and Marisela for the classroom use and Jerry, Kristine and her team for all the logistics. The parents truly appreciate the opportunity to learn how to navigate our educational system and support their students. 
Come see the Marching Band and Color Guard District Fall Showcase here at Monte Vista on Thursday, November 16th at 6:00 p.m $8.00 ticket donation. Free to 8th grade and younger, military and Veterans.
The 17th Annual Holiday Outreach Festival is right around the corner. It is Friday, December 1 immediately after the minimum day in the quad and gym. The Multicultural Winter Festival includes great foods, fun games and performances. All proceeds from the event will go to outstanding charities that the students have selected to save lives throughout the Third World. This MVHS tradition is a great way to bring our community together in the spirit of the Holidays while experiencing the power of giving. Rob Gorney will be sending an email this week to see who is interested in participating. 
Students from ONE.org will be stopping by period 3 classrooms immediately after Thanksgiving break to issue out a donation cup for the ONE.org Campaign to help out MV families most in need during the Holidays. Please encourage your class to donate between Nov 28 - Dec 5. The top 2 classes with the most donations will receive a nice party for their generosity. Please fill up those cups and secure them when you leave.
Football playoff game on Friday night here vs. Chula Vista. We want to see everyone here. Bring your family and friends. Nice article on Jahmon McClendon in the SDFNL online magazine. https://issuu.com/sdfnlmagazine/docs/nov_2017_20issue
Academic League both JV and Varsity are 2-0. Congrats to our students and coach
Mr. Geraci. He gave the students great motivational pep talks last week.
Thank you to Tracy Leota for taking a group of our students to the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and University) Fair up in Los Angeles on Saturday. Here is a photo of the attendees. When you see them, ask them how they liked it. Our Commitment to Campus Safety
Thank you for your support in keeping our campus safe. Since our safety meetings last year it is appreciated that staff consistently uses blue slips which makes it easier for campus supervisors to monitor student time to and from locations. Student know they must have them now. This year we have continued to keep the north gates closed but not locked so our campus does not appear open to the public from the north end of campus We have also been holding the students to the red line boundaries (thanks to PE teachers and campus supervision during Advisory). We appreciate teachers keeping students until the bell and not releasing them early to break, Advisory or lunch. Just a reminder that students need to commit to
attending Advisory for the entire time so we don’t have them wandering the halls.
In October we (and many other sites) saw an increase in inappropriate behaviors leading to suspensions. Thank you to the Admin. Team, Deputy McCoy and the campus supervisors for working so hard to address all the situations. We need and appreciate your support with helping students to be mindful of our rules and expectations. I have seen students respond to quick and respectful reminders from staff in the halls about hoods, earbuds and language. Thank you for doing this. As it was shared last year with our safety communications, it is important that we work together to address inappropriate behaviors but focus on affirming students for positive behavior as well.
A few staff members have shared their frustration about an increase in profanity on campus since the start of the school year. We appreciate your support by addressing students immediately when it is heard or by notifying a campus supervisor if you hear it consistently or need support. The articles attached share some approaches to managing profanity. One article is from a college professor.
Keeping students in the “KNOW” - Show the Newscast each week
Please make sure your students consistently see the Newscast each Wednesday. We want to make sure they know about deadlines for sports, college visits, application deadlines and ASB events. Thank you for your cooperation.
Student Congress meeting this week - Please give students reminder flyer
The first Student Congress meeting is Tuesday, November 14 at ADVISORY in the Library Community Room and the second Student Congress meeting is Thursday, November 30th during Period 3. The meeting Tuesday is a getting to know you and what Student Congress is all about. Period 3 teachers please provide the students with the reminder flyer that will be placed in your mailbox. Thank you for submitting your names and for reminding your students to attend.
Class Welcome Signs
In preparation for the WASC visit, we would like to create simple welcome signs for your classroom doors and offices. This way our WASC team that visits every classroom can easily identify your room, subject area, etc. In addition to adding your name, subjects taught, room # or office title, it would be nice to add a logo, or photo of schools and programs you attended that led up to your current career here at Monte Vista. It would be great to know the university, college, military, vocational school, high school that you attended and display this on your welcome sign.
Providing this information is completely optional of course.
It would be great to spotlight our Monte Vista alumni (all high schools are welcome too of course) so please indicate this on the shared Google Doc. below. Hopefully displaying these welcome signs will spark great conversations with your students/guests and build some common connections (my mom is in the service, my dad attended that school). Please only include what you would like posted on a welcome sign to your classroom/office. Here is the shared Google Doc.
REMINDERS
- Monday the lockdown and secure campus alerts will be tested from 7:00 a.m. and finish around 7:15 a.m. Sorry for any inconvenience.
- Tuesday, November 14th the new Advisory Cycle begins. Office hours will be the week of Tuesday, December 12th.
- Benefit Open Enrollment ends Friday, November 17th @ 4 p.m.
- Assisting in Suicide Prevention training all staff must take this. Go to: http://www.jpalearninglibrary.com/login/89/ which will take you to the “JPA Learning Center” website.
- ETS is using Thanksgiving Break (20 November through 22 November) as a maintenance window to upgrade computer and network systems and apply security patches. There may be short-term service interruptions that are similar to what you experience when your computer restarts following updates.
- The district is moving all of the library websites to the Catapult platform, and some things have not yet migrated for our site. If you want your students to use the online database, please use this direct link for the time being: http://library.guhsd.net/Resources/Online-Databases/index.html
Week at a Glance See the Events and Athletics Google calendars.
Monday, November 13 Staff meeting 8:00 a.m. Theater
PTSA meeting, 6:00 p.m. Library
Tuesday, November 14 New Advisory cycle begins
Wednesday, November 15 Benefits Insurance representative on site 3:15 p.m. Room 101
Thursday, November 16 Marching Band and Colorguard Fall Showcase 6:00 p.m. stadium
Friday, November 17 Home Varsity football playoff game @ 7:00 p.m. vs.
Benefit Open Enrollment ends @ 4 p.m.
November 20 - 24 Thanksgiving Break
Here is the message sent home to parents on Sunday, November 13, 2017
Join us here at the Monte Vista stadium on Thursday, November 16 at 6:00 p.m. for the Marching Band and Color Guard District Fall Showcase. The show includes marching bands from each comprehensive school site marching individually, followed by a grand finale of a Massed Band Performance on the Field!! During the show a variety of foods will be available at concession stands. There is an $8.00 donation for entrance. 8th grade students and younger are free if accompanied by a paid adult. Military and Veterans are free. Hope to see you here.
Friday night our Varsity Football team plays Chula Vista High School in the playoffs. Students, please note that you can not use your ASB card to get in free to CIF games. The cost for students and seniors age 60 and older is $6.00. The cost is $10.00 for all others. Costs vary depending on the type of playoff game. We hope to see you here on Friday night to cheer on our team.
Our next PTSA meeting is tomorrow night, November 13 at 6:00 p.m. in the library. Please join us.
On behalf of the staff at Monte Vista High School, we want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving Break. Just a reminder that next week there is no school from Monday, Nov. 20 to Friday, November 24, 2017. We will see our Monarchs back at school on Monday, November 27th.
Have a great week Monarchs.
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