Principal Matters

We are in full swing of 2nd semester and with that movement, there are several upcoming events that you should be aware of. First, I am happy to announce that the month of February is “Have a Heart” month and our ASB and administration will be facilitating events that bring awareness to issues like anti-bullying and providing blood to those in need during our annual Blood Drive. Please continue to check schoolloop.com for additional details.

It is this same heart that goes into our student athletes who participate in Spring sports including basketball, softball, soccer, baseball, swimming, wrestling, cheer and track. Our students continue to demonstrate their commitment to our school and to their own personal development. And now after a long wait, our community will finally be able to get a sneak peek of the new main gym as we will host the final 2 basketball games in that facility.  We also enter a season of high stakes testing as, our 10th graders will take the High School Exit Exam on Feb.7-8, followed by STAR tests coming after Spring Break.

In efforts to continue to promote our IB program, we are hosting two spring IB Parent Tours coming Feb. 1st and Feb.13th. Please RSVP with Rosa Ortiz at rortiz@smuhsd.org. And finally, our Spring program-ming is set to begin with our current 11th graders and they will register for classes for next year at the end of February. The counselors will meet with each student to ensure they are signed up for college preparatory classes, so please anticipate the course sheet at home and discuss this with your child. Clearly, there is a lot going on, so please stay connected and I look forward to seeing you soon!

-Mrs. Shanks

Course Preview Day, Feb. 15th

In preparation for Spring Programming, students will have an opportunity to learn more about the classes they are signing up for on February 15th at lunch time. We will extend lunch to 40 minutes and students will visit tables to learn about our wonderful course offerings. Both teachers, current students and counselors will be available to answer any questions.

Course Programming for 2012-2013

Spring is just a few short months away and believe it or not it's already time to start planning for next year. Starting on February 27th counselors will meet with students to choose courses for next year. They will begin with Juniors the week of the 27th, Sophomores the next week and so on, culminating in visits to Park-side and Taylor Middle School beginning the week of March 20th.

There are several important things to be aware of during programming:

1. The course request sheets ask for a parent signature, so please sure to take a look at your students' course request sheets and discuss the best choices for your son and daughter. Course request sheets are handed out to the students the week before they meet with the counselor.
2. We are an open access district, which means students can enroll in honors or IB classes without having to satisfy specific prerequisites. For example, students can take IB English even if they didn't take advanced standing English the year before. With that said, please keep in mind that students and parents will be asked to sign an IB contract which acknowledges that the student has carefully considered the rigor of the IB curriculum and will commit to the class for at least a semester. We need students to honor their commitments because the school builds the master schedule and makes staffing decisions based on student course requests.
3. We will ask teachers to complete a Google doc with student course recommendations, which will inform student placement.

Students are strongly encouraged to talk to their current teachers to see what course makes the most sense for the student next year. The current teachers are an important re-source in determining proper student placement, so students should talk with their teachers to help determine the best fit. We have many exciting course offerings and we all want to work together to make sure all students have the most beneficial schedule possible for next year.

-Mr. Montgomery

Construction Update

We are happy to announce that the Boys’ Locker Room is finally open and ready for use. The Boys’ PE Program was able to move in to the new facility over the winter break and the 9th and 10th grade boys have been dressing in a beautiful new locker room. The teachers and students are happy with the new space which is large and includes new lockers, bathrooms, showers and other amenities. Site administration took time in the first weeks of the semester to talk to the students about appropriate use of the new facilities. Students heard how it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that these new facilities remain in good shape for the generations to come.

Another exciting note is that the last basketball games of the season will be played in the new Main Gym with the special permission of the district. Tuesday, February 7th is a FS double-header against Sequoia HS. Girls’ FS will play at 4:30 and Boys’ FS will play at 6pm. Wednesday, February 8th is Senior Night, which is a double-header with both Varsity teams against Sequoia HS. Girls’ Varsity plays at 4:30 and Boys’ Varsity plays at 6pm. Senior Basketball players and their families will be recognized on this night. Both nights will allow us to preview the new gym before it is officially turned over to the school later this spring.

The Satellite Arts Building that will house our Ceramics and Arts classes is on schedule and we look forward to seeing it’s completion in the spring. Lastly, it is with great regret to announce that the theater will not be completed in time for graduation on Friday, June 1st. We will be holding graduation on campus and we are looking to the senior class and parents to provide feedback on the location of the ceremony. We have a unique opportunity to hold the ceremony at the stadium or in the new Main Gym. To provide feedback, please take this short survey:

 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDVHMnlOdXBSOGw1M24yYmI2a3VfOVE6MQ