PTMS Weekly Parent Newsletter
September 8, 2023
Coming Up
September 11 - 8th Grade Picture Day
September 13 - ELAC Meeting - 6:00-7:30 p.m. - Learning Commons
ASB/PTSA Fundraiser continues through September 29th
Message from the Principal
Parents,
Happy Friday! Our students had a very active week of learning across the campus. Science classes began their ecology unit in 7th grade, while 8th graders looked at genetics and are beginning an inquiry into genetic disorders. Some of our PE classes started a pickleball unit, while others began a rugby unit. One class even had a chance to learn from professional rugby players on Wednesday. Today our counselors held another "New Student Social" during lunch, and it was a great way for our new members of the Wolfpack to connect to other students.
Next week we have a lot happening so I listed some reminders below:
~8th grade picture day is Monday
~Tryouts for Boys & Girls Club fall sports
~Wednesday evening is our Multi-Lingual Learner Family Listening Session at Torrey Pines HS
Please note that this year, the Boys & Girls Club is offering a flag football team for girls in addition to a team for boys. Girls flag football is now a CIF high school sport, so what a great opportunity for our female athletes to get involved.
Finally, I want to say thank you to all of the parents who wave and say hello at drop off. Your smiles are always welcome, and bonus points when you bring your dog! Dogs always make our staff smile, so thank you.
Remember that Monday is our late start day, and if you need to drop your student off early, our Learning Commons is open at 7:30 am and is supervised. We would rather you drop your student off to school rather than having them be at the shopping plaza across the street.
Have a wonderful weekend, and we will see your student on Monday.
In gratitude,
Scott Wild
Principal
Message from the Assistant Principal
Introducing Interim Assistant Principal Nancy Zoepfl
Hello Parents!
My name is Nancy Zoepfl and I am serving as the Interim Assistant Principal at Pacific Trails. I am retired but have been a substitute administrator for the district since last school year. So far my experience at Pacific Trials has been very positive. My career began as a Spanish teacher followed by Assistant Principal, Principal, Director of English learners and finally an Administrative Director at a charter school. Most of my experience has been at the high school level.
In my “retired” time I love to travel, cook, spend time with my grandchildren and of course attend as many Padres games as I can.
I look forward to meeting and working with staff, students and parents! Parents, my door is always open. If you need to contact me, please do not hesitate to do so. I can be reached at 858.509.1000, ext. 4615 or via email at Nancy.Zoepfl@sduhsd.net.
CoVitality Survey
All students will be invited to participate in a short survey during Homeroom on Wednesday, September 13th. Please review the notification linked below for more information about the upcoming SDUHSD CoVitality Screening, and instructions if you would like to opt your student out of participating.
PTMS Spring 2023 SDUHSD CoVitality Screening Passive Consent Letter - English
PTMS Spring 2023 SDUHSD CoVitality Screening Passive Consent Letter - Spanish
Message from the Counselors
The first semester add/drop deadline is approaching. Level change requests in English and math can be made with your Counselor through September 12, 2023 and will be honored if space is available.
At PTMS, we will recognize the week of September 18 as Suicide Prevention Week. On September 18, we will meet with all of our Wolves through PE classes to discuss protective factors, warning signs, and how to get help. California State Assembly Bill 2246 requires this very important information be made available, but if you prefer to Opt-Out your student, please click here.
Career speakers - Your help is needed! We are currently collecting the names of parents who are interested in coming in at the end of November to give a short presentation to students on their chosen career. Thanks to those of you who have already responded - we haven’t forgotten about you! For more information, please email Samantha Eels-Taylor.
Low-Cost Computers Available Sept. 9 in San Diego Families in San Diego can get used laptops and desktop computers loaded with educational software for as little as $100 at a drive-thru event Sept. 9 from 9:00 to 11:30 a.m. at the SDCOE main campus. The program is organized by SDCOE and Computers 2 Kids. Read More
Lisa Curry, Counselor (A-Ma) lisa.curry@sduhsd.net
Carsen Murt, Counselor (Mc-Z and EL Students) carsen.murt@sduhsd.net
Samantha Eels-Taylor, Student Support Facilitator samantha.eelstaylor@sduhsd.net
Mental Health & Wellness
Mental Health & Wellness Resources for Students, Staff, and School Community.
Click on the QR code to discover your PTMS Support Staff.
7th Grade Picture Proofs
Seventh graders who had their pictures taken on 7th Grade Picture Day, and who have not yet provided an email address via the QR code to the right, received physical picture proofs to take home for parents to order from. If you have not yet seen those proofs, ask your student to check their backpack. Or you can click on this QR code to connect with Gerardy Studios online.
8th Grade Picture Day
Picture Day for 8th graders is September 11 through PE classes. ISPE classes will report to the gym for their picture to be taken during their ISPE class periods (either Period 1 or Period 6) or will receive passes to get their pictures taken.
Click on the QR code on the below flyer to receive a link to your gallery when it's ready (which will be sometime after picture days). With that link, you will be able to view and choose from proofs of your student's portraits.
Click on this QR code to receive a link to your Gerardy photo gallery when it's ready (which will be sometime after the picture days conclude). This will open up a direct link to Gerardy when it comes time to see the proofs and order the 2023-24 school pictures of your child. The school site is no longer permitted to provide parent email addresses to the picture people, so parents need to provide it directly to the company in order to take advantage of this service.
From the Attendance Office
Lost & Found
The Lost and Found bin is overflowing with sweatshirts and water bottles. All unclaimed items will be donated on Monday, September 11. Please have your student check for missing items. The bins are also displayed out on the entrance patio to the Administration Building for your convenience in checking when arriving or departing the school.
~ Make school attendance a daily habit!
ASB and Student Announcements
You can check them out on the Students tab of our website under "Student Announcements" for a running post of each week's student announcements.
ASB/PTSA Fundraiser Update
Check out this video from ASB about the 2023-24 ASB/PTSA Fundraiser.
Next morning envelope drop-off is Wednesday, September 13th, before school out in front. Please be sure your student's Homeroom teacher is written on the envelope or check so that Homeroom class can get credit toward the Homeroom Competition.
Department News
From the PE Department
Please follow us on Instagram to see what your student is up to during PE class.
PTMS 2023-24 Yearbook
Clubs
Robotics Club
Interest Survey for the *NEW* Pacific Trails Robotics League - Founder: Rishav (email)
The Pacific Trails Robotics League is a new Club for PTMS that will engage in competitive robotics (e.g., First Tech Challenge Robotics); however, we’ll need 1 co-founder and 10-15 members from the student body to get this club off the ground. To show your interest and find more information about this club, please sign-up at our website.
Additionally, we have an urgent need for robotics coaches/mentors (mentor coach checklist). If you are interested in mentoring our Club*, helping us find qualified mentors, or have any additional questions/suggestions, please email us at pacifictrailsroboticsleague@gmail.com.
* In order to mentor PTMS students, please contact vetha.pierce@sduhsd.net for steps to get a district clearance.
Science Bowl Club
Science Bowl is a buzzer-based national competition where teams of students from different schools compete in head-to-head science competitions with questions in math, biology, the physical sciences, Earth/Space, Energy, and general science. Students will compete in a regional competition in late February or early March, and will compete in the national round if they win.
PTMS Science Bowl Club will be coached by CCA students and meet on Wednesdays 3:45-4:45pm in the PTMS Multi-Purpose Room starting mid-September. For questions, please email to ptmssciencebowl@gmail.com. To register, please click Register
~ Club activity will be posted here throughout the year. To get a list of all Clubs currently active, please check our Activities page on our website.
From the PTSA
Thank you for your generous donations so far. We kicked off the annual fundraiser in collaboration with ASB and have raised close to $20K so far. Our goal is $75K, so we can continue to provide the student enrichment on-campus and also organize fun events for our students on-campus!
For more details on what PTSA is, membership perks, how your donations support students and school enrichment, visit PTSA website.
Join PTSA and make your donation to help us reach our goal of $75,000 this year.
Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge
Congratulations to our own 8th graders, Jeyanth Narayan Parthasarathy and Steven Chen, for making it into the top 300 finalists in the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge. Two former PTMS students, who are in high school now, also made the cut. Congratulations to Dhruv Bantval and Ethan Leem!
Some background on this Competition:
As like any competition - the path to this achievement is not easy and requires passing through many stages creating a lengthy process. Students first participated in Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair in March 2023. Whoever secured first place under different categories, then got nominated to participate in Thermo Fisher JIC 2023. So across different regional science fairs conducted across the country in March 2023, a grand total of 1,828 students got selected/nominated to participate in this Thermo Fisher JIC and then out of 1,828 participants, the top 300 innovators were selected and the list got published on September 6, 2023. Now from all these 300 students, the top 30 finalists will be selected and announced on September 20, 2023.
Multilingual Learner Corner
SDUHSD is excited to host their first SDUHSD Multilingual Learner Night of the year on September 13th. There is a special program planned in partnership with the SDCOE and WestEd, which includes a Listening Circle for our Multilingual Learner families.
Multilingual Learner Night & Listening Circle - English
Multilingual Learner Night & Listening Circle- Chinese
Multilingual Learner Night & Listening Circle- Spanish
To read the Annual Notification of Available Language Programs in the SDUHSD, please click here for Page 1 and for Page 2.
Chromebook Insurance
Chromebook insurance is available for purchase by clicking this link.
The cost is $44 for coverage that lasts until August 7, 2024.
Deadline to purchase insurance is October 31, 2023.
Nutrition Services
Job Opportunities - Nutrition Services
SDUHSD is seeking individuals who want to make a difference in children’s lives in the role of an Instructional Assistant. We have positions available for Instructional Assistant – Special Education, Instructional Assistant – Behavior Intervention, and Instructional/Personal Care Assistant. These positions are typically between 4 – 6 hours per day, depending on the assignment.
Instructional Assistants assist a certificated teacher in providing instruction to an individual or small group of students in a special education learning environment. We have openings throughout the district at middle and high schools in Special Education classrooms.
If you are interested, or know someone else who would love this job, go to www.edjoin.org/sandieguito.
Special Education Sessions and Events
For a list of Special Education Informational Sessions and Family Events, please click here.
Other Important Items
- Boys & Girls Club - Seasonal sports information/registration.
- PTMS Live Calendar of Campus Events and 2023-24 Instructional Calendar.
- PTMS Spirit Wear/Gear - PTMS Spirit Wear and accessories for the whole family!
- PTMS Student Vehicle Permit - Register your bike/e-bike/scooter/skateboard with PTMS. Complete this form and turn in to the office.
- PTMS Webstore - PE clothes/Limited Series Clothing
- PTMS Webstore - Spirit Wear
- PTMS Yearbook. - Order today!
- San Dieguito Alliance for a Drug-Free Youth - complete the Parent Pledge here.
- San Dieguito Boys & Girls Club - click the link to the left for 2023-24 athletic schedules.
- SDUHSD - Employment Opportunities. To view a list of openings and to apply, please click https://www.edjoin.org/sandieguito or you can call Susan Gray at 760 753-6491 x5543.
This newsletter has also been posted to our website under "Parent Communications."