Marvelous Falcon Families,

"Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get–only with what you are expecting to give–which is everything." ~Katherine Hepburn~

Happy Valentines Day Falcons!

I hope that you are enjoying this fine Super Bowl weekend. To be frank, I am not vested this year as I do not support either teams. However, I am sure that many of you are rooting for either the Chiefs or the Eagles. Regardless of our support for a team, much of our support comes from our love of the game or love of a team. It is fitting that this Super Bowl starts off Valentine's Week because this game is the culmination of our collective love of American football. May the best team win! Or, if you are like me, may the best commercial win!

Also, our Lady Falcons deserve our congratulations as they will be in the championship game against Southwest Middle on Monday, February 13 at 6:30pm under the big lights! Congratulations ladies!

This month we are celebrating Black History Month. To jumpstart our celebration, I want to highlight the innovative achievements of African-Americans. This week, I want to highlight a lesser-known African American, the immortal Henrietta Lacks. Ms. Lacks was ill with an aggressive cervical cancer and was treated at John Hopkins University, one of the few hospitals that treated Blacks. Unbeknownst to her family and her, John Hopkins sent samples of her cells to a renowned cancer and viral researcher, Dr. Gey; this was commonplace practice for the hospital. In most cases, cells that were collected died. On the other hand, Ms. Lacks' cells were observed to double every 20-24 hours; her cells were labeled as immortal and given the name HeLa cells. These cells have been singularly responsible for many discoveries such as the polio vaccine and the completion of the human genome. More recently, these cells have played a crucial role in the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. In spite of the significant scientific milestones that were achieved, Ms. Lacks and her family have never received public acknowledgment for her cells' contributions to the advancement of science until 2011 when Rebecca Skloot wrote her story, which she titled The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Without the HeLa cells, many scientific achievements will not exist.

Progress Report 3 is this Thursday, February 16, 2023

The first progress report of Semester 2 is February 16, 2023. To ensure that your child is reaching his/her academic goals, please review the available tutoring for this semester. These rooms are open to anyone for the specific subject areas. Teachers will submit grades on February 14, 2023. Encourage your children to complete any missing assignments and to talk directly to their teachers as they are the ones who will be submitting grades.

• Eighth graders, you need to pass all your classes in order to promote.

• Seventh graders, if you do not want to attend summer school, pass all your classes now. Otherwise, you will be assigned summer school in June.

Falcon Flight and Spring Sports

Tryouts for spring sports has been moved to Tuesday due to our Girls' Soccer Team going to the championship game on Monday evening. However, in order to tryout, you must be signed up to participate in Falcon Flight. Please read the information below regarding Falcon Flight and/or Spring Sports. For more information, please email our to coordinators, Ms. Pulido at jessica.pulido@sweetwaterschools.org or Mr. Horton at joshua.horton@sweetwaterschools.org. Also, Spring Break field trips will occur this year and you must be signed up in Falcon Flight to participate.

Free Community Services

Also made available by SBCS are monthly free food distribtution, tax assistance and Cal Fresh Support. Please see all flyers below.

Finally, the rest of the newsletter contains reminders of our cell phone policy, dress code policy and bullying/harrassment policy. Please read it again especially with your parents so that there are no surprises.

Falcons, let's have an amazing and safe week.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Finley

Falcons, last week was much better in terms of less aggressive behaviors. I want to thank you for your efforts in managing your behaviors. I am grateful for our staff who are so willing to ensure that our campus continues to be safe. The feeling on campus was very different from last week. Students, during the RP circle in your advisories, many of heard your classmates share what they felt about what some of you are doing; many statements were not good. You also shared what you, as an individual, need to do to stop these behavior. The number one solution was to stop gossiping and spreading the word that someone wants to fight someone. Our conversations about this topic will continue as some of you still think that continuing this behavior is a joke and don't care about if you get consequences or not.

Let me be clear on this message: continue to demonstrate violent behavior and you be given serious consequences, which could include suspensions, potential expulsion and arrest. If you fall in this small group of students who want to continue to demonstrate unsafe behavior, think of the cost when these serious consequences will be applied. Is it really worth it?

Finally, if you see or know something, say something to a trusted adult. Violence is not acceptable and should not be tolerated by anyone. We have a great school. Let's continue to make our campus not only great but also safe.

Hello Students,
This is a reminder that you will be receiving a blue pass to go to our computer lab, room 1004 starting on Monday 13, 2023. It is very important that you go to room 1004 because you will be taking the ELPAC test right away. This test is very important for your English placement and reclassification status. Please take a minute to watch the videos that I have attached for you to see. We wish you the best of luck with the ELPAC test.

Hola estudiantes,
Este es un recordatorio de que recibirás un pase azul para ir a nuestro laboratorio de computación, salón 1004 a partir del lunes 13 de 2023. Es muy importante que vayas al salón 1004 porque tomarás el examen ELPAC en cuanto llegues. Esta prueba es muy importante para tu ubicación en inglés y tu estado de reclasificación. Tómate un minuto para ver los videos que he adjuntado para que aprendas más información sobre la prueba. Te deseamos la mejor de las suertes con la prueba ELPAC.

Eighth graders, the Hilltop High Schools counselors sent this video for you to view BEFORE you see them this week to register for your classes. Remember, what HTH staff and students stated last Friday, be involved so choose your electives wisely. Check this video out.