Paly Community Update
Friday, September 2, 2022
Hello Viking Students and Families!
Last night’s Back-To-School-Night was truly an amazing experience for all of us here at Paly. It was absolutely wonderful to see the return of our parent community after not being able to be on campus for the past couple of years. I had several conversations with many parents last night who shared with me their gratitude for the amazing and thoughtful teachers they heard from over the course of the evening.
I would also like to thank the two organizations that make a significant contribution and impact to our ability to provide excellent opportunities for our students. Thank you to PiE and to our PTSA members for supporting Paly in a variety of ways. And most importantly, I would like to thank all of our families who contribute to both of these organizations. Because of all of you, we are able to continue the great tradition of providing our Paly students with excellent educational opportunities combined with a supportive culture and climate.
Your presence last night was the final step in our process of reopening Paly. I hope that those of you that attended our event last night also found the return to campus exciting and hopeful for many great things to come this year. I look forward to seeing all of you at our upcoming events throughout this school year.
With gratitude,
Brent Kline, Principal
One PALO ALTO: A Community Event
In the spirit of One Palo Alto we invite the Gunn and Paly communities to our upcoming football game on 9/9, taking place at Gunn HS at 7:00 p.m. While Gunn and Paly compete with each other in multiple sports, football games offer a larger venue that can accommodate more people. We look forward to “packing the house” with Gunn and Paly current students, alumni and parents and filling the stadium with your energetic and supportive school spirit and Palo Alto pride. To avoid long lines we suggest that you purchase tickets ahead of time at the LINK here.
Seeking AVID Volunteer Tutors
- Desire to be a role model and mentor for students
- Desire to work with groups of students, supporting them through academic conversations and problem-solving related to their academic curriculum.
- Expertise of subject matter is not required or expected.
- Time: Period 3 (1:00-2:30) Tuesday/Thursday, Period 5 (9:00-10:35) Wednesday/Friday. Consistent time commitment 1 hour or 1 period a week is desired.
If you are interested in helping out, please contact Crystal Laguna (claguna@pausd.org) and/or Michelle Steingart (msteingart@pausd.org).
Athletic Information
Attention Paly Athletic Parents and Community! We are going Cashless. Our Fall sports that require tickets for entry are Football and Girls Volleyball (volleyball tickets are required at the door after 5:00pm). Tickets can be found at https://palyathletics.com/event-tickets. Please do your best to purchase tickets ahead of time online as there will be no cash sales at the gate.
College Board Testing
SAT School Based for Students with Accommodations:
11th and 12th-grade students with disabilities may register for the SAT September through April. We do not administer the SAT to students with disabilities in the months of May-August. Please plan accordingly.
Junior Families Only:
The PSAT/NMSQT is Wednesday, October 12, 2022. If your student has a 504 or IEP, please complete the 22.23 PSAT/NMSQT Accommodations Request Survey that was sent to you via email. If your student has a 504 or IEP and you did not receive the survey, contact your Guidance Counselor or Case Manager for the survey link.
Senior Families ONLY:
The SAT will be offered for a FEE at PALY on October 27th. Unlike the PSAT, the SAT will not be financed by the school or school partners. Students will be required to pay a non-refundable $60 exam fee. Seniors were provided a sign-up Form via Schoology on Friday, August 19th.
Updates from Guidance
Advisory
Back to School Night
I hope you all had a chance to attend our 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.
There was an Advisory period for the 9th & 11th grade parent/guardians. Those two grade levels have new Teacher Advisors (TAs) this year and it was a chance to meet in person. For other grades, if your student has a new TA this year, please feel free to reach out via email if you have anything you’d like to share with the TA that you feel is useful as they support your student at Paly. Remember in Paly’s 3-Tiered Guidance model, they are the first point of contact for not only your student, but you as well. 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. You can always look on Paly’s main Google calendar as well. 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.
Parent Nights
Each year our School Counselors and College Career Center Counselors host parent nights. Please “Save the Dates” for the parent night events listed below. More information and specifics about each event will be posted on paly.net and sent in an email prior to the event.
Parent nights will be hosted in person this year in the PAC.
- Sept 7th, 6:30-8:00pm - Senior Parent Night
- Sept 14th, 6:30-8:00pm - Frosh/Soph Parent Night (new this year - a combined event for 9th & 10th grade parents)
- Sept 28th - 6:30-8:00pm - Junior Parent Night
2nd Semester
- Jan 18th - 6:30-8:00pm - Frosh/Soph Parent Night
- Mar 15th - 6:30-8:00pm - Junior Parent/TA/College Advisor Night
College and Career Center
“C&CC Class of 2023” 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 22-23 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.
Application tips sheets for the CSU and UC applications will be updated after the counselor conference for each. In addition, information for entering Dual Enrollment courses will be updated in the next month. In the meantime, the previous year’s documents in Schoology can be used as a guideline to get started with college applications.
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 7 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.
Wellness
Wellness is so happy to welcome students back to school and to our new space! While the tower building is under construction, you can find us in P-4, right next to the nurse. Our services are still the same and we are so excited for this upcoming school year.
Coming soon: We are hosting our annual Wellness Resource Fair for students on 9/19 during 4th and lunch. Please encourage your students to attend to meet local providers and agencies working in the wellness field!
Check out these upcoming workshops, for students and parents, hosted virtually by allcove:
Community Service
HelperHelper is the only online application used to track Paly 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 2022 PVSA and deadlines for submitting community service:
The necessary google forms will be opened next week in September after labor day on Paly.net Community Service page.
Senior Google forms for PVSA submission will be opened and available Sept. 6, 2022. Underclassmen forms will be available Sept 13.
SENIORS ONLY (Class of 2023):
The deadline for submitting your request for the Fall 2022 PVSA is Friday, September 16, 2022.
Google forms for PVSA submission will be opened and available Sept. 6, 2022.
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 2024) and
Sophomores (Class of 2025):
Deadline for submitting a request for Fall 2022 PVSA: September 29, 2022.
Visit https://www.paly.net/campus-life/community-service for the required google form and instructions.
Google forms for PVSA submission will be opened and available Sept. 13, 2022.
Freshmen (Class of 2026):
Deadline for submitting a request for Fall 2022 PVSA: September 29, 2022.
Visit https://www.paly.net/campus-life/community-service for the required google form and instructions.
The HelperHelper accounts for freshmen will be activated. A message will be sent to school (@pausd.us) email accounts directly from HelperHelper by Sept. 6th. 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 after 8th grade promotion.
Questions: email klarson@pausd.org
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 virtual Bulletin Board for Job Opportunities for current positions, and a job fair will be held on Friday, Sept. 9th during lunch in the quad so encourage your child to attend. It’s always useful to practice their introduction or learn about the benefits of having a job while a student. Further inquiries may be sent directly to the Work Experience Teacher Rachael Kaci: rkaci@pausd.org