PTMS Weekly Parent Newsletter
August 25, 2023
Coming Up
August 28 - Picture Day thru 7th grade PE classes
August 28 - STAR Reading Test
August 31 - ELAC Meeting - 4:30-5:30 p.m. - Learning Commons
August 31 - Back to School Night - 5:30-7:25 p.m.
September 1 - PTSA General Meeting/Coffee with the Principal - 8:45-10:00 a.m.
September 1 - STAR Math Testing
September 4 - Labor Day - NO SCHOOL
September 5 - Block Day 1-3-5
Message from the Principal
Wolfpack families,
As we close out our first full week, our students are really getting into the rhythm of middle school. During English classes, students had a chance to visit the Learning Commons and orient themselves with the resources. Our ASB led a wonderful week of fun activities, and I am grateful to Ms. Main and her group of wonderful leaders who make a difference on our campus.
As we look to next week, Monday is Picture Day for 7th grade students. Thursday is Back-To-School-Night and I invite all families to come and visit their student's classrooms, meet our amazing teachers and staff, and hear about the learning that will happen throughout the year.
Finally, next week will be our last week with Assistant Principal Freeman before she heads up to Canyon Crest Academy to serve on their staff. We welcome Ms. Nancy Zoepfl, a retired educator and administrator, to support our team for the foreseeable future. If you see Ms. Freeman, please thank her for her years of service at PTMS and wish her well at CCA.
In gratitude,
Scott Wild
Principal
Message from the Assistant Principal
Student Expectations/Behavior Talks
Assistant Principal Freeman went over a student expectations presentation with all PE classes on Thursday and Friday this week. ISPE students will be asked to review the slides in Google Classroom.
Parents who wish to review what was discussed, please click here.
STAR Testing
This year all students will participate in the Renaissance Star Reading and Star Math academic universal screening tests to measure student’s learning and growth over the school year. The Star tests help our schools and teachers evaluate student performance and progress over time in order to provide the necessary student support.
Star Reading and Star Math are both short (30 minute), low stakes, computer adaptive, academic assessments. Star assessments help teachers better understand what students know and can do in the areas of reading and math. As a student takes the test, the software selects items based on the student’s responses. If the student answers correctly, the next item will be more difficult. If the student answers incorrectly, the next item will be less difficult. By adjusting the difficulty of the items based on a student's responses, the assessment is an accurate way to help teachers identify what skills students are ready to learn. Teachers use this information to guide their instruction.
Scores will be posted by the district in Aeries once they are available.
Fall STAR Testing Dates
STAR Reading: Monday, August 28th in English classes
STAR Math: Thursday, August 31st or Friday, September 1st in Math classes
Feel free to contact me at kathryn.freeman@sduhsd.net, or Lisa Graciano, at lisa.graciano@sduhsd.net, if you have any questions.
Message from the Counselors
Career Talks: Are you a Mom, Dad, Aunty, Uncle, etc. who loves their job? We are once again putting together a list of varied speakers ready for our career program in late November. If you are willing to talk to students for around 30 minutes and could create a brief google slide presentation, then please email our Student Support Facilitator Samantha Eels-Taylor (see below) for more information.
The Counseling Office is unable to honor schedule change requests unless your student is requesting to move from an honors course to a college prep course. Changes can be made through your child’s counselor through September 12, 2023 and will be honored if space is available.
For our Multilingual Learner (MLL) families…we will be hosting our first ELAC meeting on August 31st from 4:30-5:15 p.m. just before Back to School Night. This is a great time to meet other MLL families and get PTMS-specific information. Coffee and refreshments will be served. We look forward to seeing you there!
Lisa Curry, Counselor (A-Ma) lisa.curry@sduhsd.net
Carsen Murt, Counselor (Mc-Z and MLL Students) carsen.murt@sduhsd.net
Samantha Eels-Taylor, Student Support Facilitator samantha.eelstaylor@sduhsd.net
Back to School Night - August 31 - 5:30-7:25 p.m.
Print out the above schedule and have your student help you fill in their classes. Bring it with you so you'll know where to go. This evening is for adults/parents only.
7th Grade Picture Day
Picture Days this year will be held on August 28 for 7th graders through PE classes and September 11 for 8th graders also 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) on their assigned 7th or 8th grade day, or will receive passes to get their pictures taken. ISPE families: Please watch for an independent notification from the Assistant Principal's Office for more details.
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
~ Make this year count - reduce your absence amount!
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.
Department News
From the PE Department
The PE team is looking for parent volunteers to help us next week as we do our fitness lab. If you can help, you will be assigned a station and help record times with a stopwatch. We will be doing this for the last 45 minutes of our classes on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, we will need help for the first 45 minutes of each period. Here is the link to sign up.
Please follow us on Instagram to see what your student is up to during PE class.
PTMS 2023-24 Yearbook
Submit Summer Photos for the Yearbook!
Yearbook is looking for photos of your student's summer adventures or activities! Please click here to submit summer photos that may potentially be used in the 2023-2024 yearbook.
Clubs
Garden Club
The Garden club is starting its meeting on Monday, August 29th after school from 2:45- 3:45 pm. Coach Bell, Ms. Goh, and Mrs. Memar are the co-advisors of the Club. The google classroom code is 3nye62u.
~ 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. The PTSA Team is excited to see you all during the BTSN, please remember to visit our booth! For more details on what PTSA is, how your donations support student and school enrichment, and membership perks, visit PTSA website.
Join PTSA and make your donation to help us reach our goal of $75,000 this year. Your support means a lot!"
From
PTSA Team!
~ To join PTSA today, click here. For Membership information, Upcoming Events, Fundraiser activity, PTSA Executive Board Members and their contact information, PTSA General Meeting dates, and more, please go the the PTSA Page of the PTMS Website.
Science Olympiad
PTMS SCIOLY 2023-2024 Season kickoff meeting
Friday, August 25 · 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Time zone: America/Los_Angeles
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/bvt-norb-sxt
Or dial: (US) +1 252-665-6525 PIN: 815 171 451#
More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/bvt-norb-sxt?pin=4762397613504
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.
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."