Paly Community Update
Friday, September 3, 2021
Wishing you a wonderful 3-day weekend!
P.R.I.M.E--Personal, Reteaching, Intervention, Mentoring, Enrichment
PRIME officially kicks off next Wednesday at Paly. PRIME is an opportunity for our students to connect with teachers in order to get help with their classwork, engage in enrichment activities, do independent work and make up their tests. Student attendance will be taken during PRIME and students with a 7th period prep are expected to attend. Initially, students will be asked to attend and stay in one location for the entire period and all teachers will be available to students during this time period.
Guidance Updates
Advisory Update
***Important Note: due to a conflict with Yom Kippur, the date for the Sophomore Parent Night has been changed to Tuesday, Sept 14th. Same Webinar ID. A reminder email will be sent the weekend prior to
the event.
Back to School Night
I hope you all had a chance to attend our virtual event last night. It is always exciting to hear from the teachers who are working with your students and learn what is planned for the semester. We did not include an Advisory period in the evening, but hope you will take the time to watch a short introductory video from your child’s Teacher Advisor (TA). In Paly’s 3-Tiered Guidance model, they are the first point of contact for not only your student, but you as well. To view, click on the appropriate grade level link below then click on the TA’s name.These amazing teachers deliver the Advisory lessons and are always working tirelessly to support your students.
As you know from the bell schedule, Advisory is held each week on Fridays from 1-1:50pm. Which grade level attends Advisory each week changes. Your student gets a reminder on Schoology when it is their week. The lessons and their timing revolves around other things happening on campus and the time of year.
11/12th-grade Advisory
During these opening weeks of school, the seniors meet more frequently as they are being guided through the college application season and need time with their TAs. During the 2nd semester, the focus will be on juniors who are preparing for their post-Paly plans and choosing classes for their senior year, among other things.
9th/10th-grade Advisory
Meetings for these grade levels are distributed evenly throughout each month. Opening topics are geared toward getting to know their TA, building community within their Advisory cohorts, and learning skills for success such as Collaboration, Self Care & Self Advocacy, Planning & Productivity, and Study Skills for Finals.
They also hear about the fun things around campus - like the popular Spirit Week activities.
If you’d like to see what is planned for each Advisory meeting, please take a look at our calendars on paly.net:
Please note that these calendars are drafts and subject to change if needed.
Grade Level Parent Nights
Each year, we host several Parent Nights. The ones held in the Fall are full of information about what to expect that year. Parent Nights will be held virtually - a link to each webinar will be provided in an email prior to the event and can be found on the chart below.
College and Career Center Updates
Naviance Access
Naviance Student is a web-based college and career exploration tool our district subscribes to, to support students in their post high school planning. Families receive Naviance registration information their first year at Paly. Ninth-grade students will register in an upcoming Advisory (November 5) while parents will receive their registration codes via email the week of November 8 with a hyperlink to a document highlighting some of Naviance’s features and functions. Once registered, students access Naviance from the PAUSD ID Portal by clicking on the Clever icon. Parents access Naviance by going to https://student.naviance.com/pahs and entering the username and password created during the Naviance registration process.
Parents, if you know that you already have a Naviance account, but you don't remember your password, please try using the "Forgot password?" link on the Naviance login page. Parents of students in grades 10-12 who never registered and have misplaced their registration code should email Karla Larson. Parents who have Naviance accounts for older students and need to link additional students to their account should email Karla Larson.
“C&CC Class of 2022” Schoology Course
Seniors and their parents will find a wealth of resources housed in a central location--in the C&CC’s “course” for seniors in Schoology. Be sure to check it regularly for college-related updates, tips, and events.
The Tips for Completing the Common App for 21-22 was just uploaded to the Common App folder. It contains Paly-specific information students will need to complete the application (i.e. size of class, etc.). Please encourage your student to take a look as it provides a helpful approach about how to prioritize completing each section of the application.
Appointments with College Advisors
We offer appointments with seniors during PRIME (formerly, Tutorial), students’ prep periods, and after school. College Advisors cannot excuse students from class to meet with us. However, students may request permission to miss class to meet with a College Advisor; after doing so, students send their teacher the following URL to complete a form--if they agree: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSebZ8Y_NKo_HiTppTireyCcZplDHFifQu8QpR88pth4X6LGZA/viewform Students should not request to miss a day with a scheduled quiz/test unless they discuss an alternate plan with their teacher prior to missing class.
College Advisors are also available before school (M/T/TH), brunch, and lunch for students to drop-in with questions.
A reminder that to request a first appointment, seniors must first complete and submit the Post High School Planning survey in Naviance. Seniors may sign up for a 60-minute advising appointment with their assigned College Advisor, using Calendly:
If the student’s last name begins with the letters A - K, their Advisor is Ms. Cernobori: https://calendly.com/scernobori
If the student’s last name begins with the letters L - Z, their Advisor is Ms. Cochrane:
https://calendly.com/jcochrane
If the student’s primary interest is community college, their Advisor is Ms. Laguna: https://calendly.com/claguna/community-college-advising
First appointments are for students, only. Parents are welcome to participate in repeat appointments, via Zoom.
College Rep Visits for Seniors
College reps will schedule 40-minute visits to Paly during school block periods. Seniors must obtain prior permission from their teacher to miss class to attend. Students must register in Naviance to attend rep visits and email their teacher a URL to complete a Google form; please look under "Students: Attend College Representative Visits at Paly" on www.paly.net/college for more details. If it's a virtual visit, students will bring their laptop to the visit to participate (i.e. “Zoom from the room”).
Capacity is limited due to COVID restrictions so in some cases, large visits are hosted in larger rooms on campus; this is why students must register well in advance and no later than 24-hours before the visit.
The full list of all visits currently scheduled is in Naviance; login to Naviance and from the Home screen scroll to the “What’s New” section. Or, you can check the calendar on www.paly.net/college.
Note: some of the entries in the Naviance College Visit list and the calendar (typically those scheduled before 9 am and after the last school bell or on weekends) are "off campus" info sessions or interview opportunities. These events usually require separate registration--not through Naviance. Expand the visit entry in Naviance (or the calendar on paly.net/college) to display the college's external registration link. The URL to join the visit will *not* be in Naviance; you'll receive it directly from the college, after registering for the event.
Parents are not permitted to attend college representative visits.
Community Service
The Paly Community Service team welcomes you to the new school year. Here are some clarifying processes and tools used for tracking Community Service at Paly and verifying hours for the President's Volunteer Service Award (PVSA).
HelperHelper is the only online application used to track community service hours. Using this tool as well as performing community service at Paly is completely voluntary – there is not a Community Service graduation requirement although individual classes may require some form of community service.
For more information, please visit Paly's Community Service Page.
Fall 2021 PVSA and deadlines for submitting community service:
The necessary google forms will be opened on or before September 1, 2021 on Paly.net Community Service page.
SENIORS ONLY (Class of 2022):
The deadline for submitting your request for transcript hours and/or a Fall 2021 PVSA is Tuesday, September 15, 2021.
Visit https://www.paly.net/campus-life/community-service for the required google form and instructions. There is an OPT OUT if you do not want your community service hours recorded on your transcript, see the Paly.net Community Service page for instructions.
Juniors (Class of 2023) and Sophomores (Class of 2024):
Deadline for submitting a request for Fall 2021 PVSA: September 29, 2021.
Visit https://www.paly.net/campus-life/community-service for the required google form and instructions.
Freshmen (Class of 2025): The HelperHelper accounts for freshmen will be activated by September 1st. A message will be sent to school (@pausd.us) email accounts directly from HelperHelper. This email includes instructions on how to access and get started with HelperHelper. Once the HelperHelper account is activated, freshmen can enter their volunteer hours that were performed starting June 4, 2021.
Deadline for submitting a request for Fall 2021 PVSA: September 29, 2021.
Work Experience
Work Permits:
Work permits must be renewed within 5 days at the start of each school year, so start the re-submission process now by completing this B1-1 document again. Then, email the completed form to rkaci@pausd.org (do not include your social security #). Thanks for your cooperation as this keeps your job site in compliance & informs PAUSD of who is actively working. More info can be found here.
Job Opportunities:
Many of our local vendors are actively hiring - review this Job Vendor slidedeck for current positions, and a job fair will be held this fall - details to follow. Further inquiries may be sent directly to the Work Experience Teacher Rachael Kaci: rkaci@pausd.org