Hello Panther Families,

Welcome to the 2021-2022 school year! We are SO EXCITED for a full return to in-person learning with all of our students and staff.

There have been several important updates from our district office over the summer. Please be sure to access that information at the Benicia Unified School District's website.

We want to welcome all of our students and families to Benicia High School at our New Student Orientation and our Back 2 School Bash, both held on Wednesday, August 11th. Our New Student Orientation will be held from 2:00 to 4:00pm and is for all students who are new to our campus - incoming 9th graders, 10th grade students who attended school virtually all year last year, and new transfer students. The orientation event is for students only, but then we have our Back 2 School Bash from 4:00 to 6:00pm where we welcome ALL of our school community - students, parents, families, and staff. Our Back 2 School Bash will feature a live DJ in the quad, games, food trucks featuring Whipt, Kona Ice, and Ofie's Kitchen selling their delicious menu items. This is a great opportunity to learn more about BHS and reconnect with school. We encourage students to bring their class schedule and locate their classrooms before the first day. In addition, we will have a special Grand Opening event for our new Wellness Center at 5:00pm. Join us!

This is our fourth year of our continued focus on the theme of COMM[YOU]NITY, the idea that every individual has their own valuable story, perspective, experiences, and talents that contribute to a caring, diverse, and incredible school community. We are excited to bring our school community back together.

Our first day of school is on Tuesday, August 17th. Below are several important updates, reminders, and a few new items that are important for our students and families to know before the school year begins. Please be sure to read through everything and to reach out to the school if you have questions so that we can personally provide you with accurate information.

New School Start Time: School Begins at 8:30am

Link to Bell Schedules on BHS Website

BHS has a modified block schedule, which is subject to change due to weeks with holidays/no school or for school events. Please be sure to check the bell schedule for dismissal times.

Independent Study Request

Benicia Unified School District has shared information with parents regarding Independent Study for the 2021-22 school year:

Pursuant to Education Code 51745, as amended by Assembly Bill 130 for the 2021-2022, we are offering an independent study option for students whose health would be put at risk by attending in-person instruction. Enrollment in the independent study course is an optional educational alternative in which no student is required to participate. All independent study instruction will be delivered virtually. Please see details of the independent study here:

https://beniciaunified.org/departments/student-services/independent-study/

New School Communication System

Benicia Unified School District is excited to stay connected with our families using a new communications tool -- ParentSquare. This will streamline communications from your school and teachers to keep you informed and connected this year. ParentSquare provides a safe way for administration, teachers, staff and parents to receive important school and teacher communication, all in one place. Benicia Unified School District will email out information to get started with ParentSquare on Monday, August 9th.

New Student Information System

BUSD is also excited to introduce our new student information system which replaces PowerSchool -- Aeries. Information to get started with Aeries will also be sent to families on Monday, August 9th so that you can create your account and complete registration for your student(s). Student schedules will then be available on Aeries on Tuesday, August 10th.

Benicia High School counselors will be providing a Parent Workshop at our Back 2 School Bash on August 11th to help parents get started with Aeries, set preferences and notifications, and make sure you have completed registration.

Class Supplies

Individual teachers will share supply lists specific to their classes, if needed, during the first week of school. Please send your children with the basics for the first week. Below is a list of suggested materials. If your family is experiencing financial difficulty and you cannot purchase school backpack or supplies, please notify our office for assistance.

• BUSD Chromebook (charged each day)
• Pencils
• Pens
• Highlighters
• Folders/Binder (organizational system)
• Binder paper/notebooks of paper
  

Back to School Night: Thursday, September 2nd

We will provide a virtual Back to School Night again this year, with videos from all of our teachers available on a special section of our BHS website, so that families can watch and learn about all of their student's classes, meet their teachers, and understand their learning goals for the school year. Please check your email as we will send out the link to this virtual event on September 2nd. Since this event will not be held in-person this year, we encourage you to come to our August 11th Back 2 School Bash which will be held on campus and will be a great opportunity to reconnect on campus. (The Back 2 School Bash is for all students, parents, and families.)

New Staff

We want to welcome all of our new students, families, and staff. Joining the Benicia High School staff are:

• Math Teacher - Nathan Hanson Regalado
• English Teacher - Stacy DeRobertis-Theye
• Social Science Teacher - Iona Morgan
• Social Science Teacher - Lynn Lubamersky
• Special Education Teacher - Michelle Aresti
• Physical Education Teacher - Heather White
• Spanish Teacher - Yarely Topete
• Band Director/Teacher - Candice Crismond
• 11th Grade Counselor - Emily Rainey
• Vice Principal (last names P-Z) - Dr. Sarah Heidel

Please take a few minutes to read on for important updates and to learn about how you can partner with us to be a part of our learning community at Benicia High School.

Go Panthers!

Brianna Kleinschmidt, Principal

• Masks are required indoors at all times: locker rooms, classrooms, gym, student center (when not eating). Outdoor is optional (PE classes & lunch).
• There are multiple outdoor lunch areas available on campus
• Frequent hand-sanitizer and hand-washing
• No minimum distance requirements
• MERV-13 air filters in all HVAC units in BHS buildings
• Doors/windows will remain open as much as possible
• Desks and high-touch surfaces cleaned are sanitized daily

Student Parking Passes are FREE this year, but students must register using the link below. Once a student has submitted the registration information needed, the information will be reviewed and a parking pass will be issued to the student (delivered to them in class). If information is missing or needed, the student will receive an email in their student email account with further instructions.

Link to Student Parking Registration

Counselors are available to provide a full range of services to students virtually. This includes academic, college, career, personal, social, and emotional support. If your child could benefit from additional support, please contact your counselor by email.

Counselors:

9th grade - Ms. Wallace at kwallace@beniciaunified.org

10th grade - Ms. Smith at jsmithalford@beniciaunified.org

11th grade - Ms. Rainey at erainey@beniciaunified.org

12th grade - Mr. Keppel at jkeppel@beniciaunified.org

College & Career Center - Ms. Marwick at gmarwick@beniciaunified.org

Textbooks:

Students will check out any needed textbooks during class time. If a student has textbooks from last year that need to be returned, please bring them to the BHS Library.

School Pictures:

Students in grades 9-11 will have their school/yearbook photo taken and receive their school ID card on Tuesday, August 24th. If you choose to purchase a photo package, it will be mailed directly to the address you provide. An email will be sent out to parents with a link to order photos directly from the photography company, Creative Imaging. Picture make-up day is on Wednesday, October 6th.

Seniors should have scheduled their Senior/yearbook portrait over the summer. If you have not yet scheduled your appointment, please do so immediately at: https://www.ciphotoca.com/benicia

If you have any questions, please email BHSInfo@beniciaunified.org.

Students are required to have a current physical exam on file in order to participate in any BHS sports, tryouts or practices. To submit the physical exam report, please go to: https://bhs.beniciaunified.org/athletics/fall-sports/

Student athletes must also be pre-registered on FamilyID before participating in tryouts or practice. FamilyID is a secure registration platform that provides you with an easy, user-friendly way to register for our athletic programs, and helps us to be more administratively efficient and environmentally responsible. When you register through FamilyID, the system keeps track of your information in your FamilyID profile. You enter your information only once for each family member for multiple uses and multiple programs. Please make sure that you have a current physical (bottom of this screen) for your athlete(s). Physicals are valid for 1 calendar year. If your physical was taken at/through Kaiser, it is valid for 2 years. The physical will need to be digitally uploaded into your registration.

Please look below for information on how to join a team or contact information for our coaches of Fall sports.

Cross Country

Head Coach - Lee Ann Aidt; email - laidt@beniciaunified.org

Cross Country practice will take place on Monday 8/9/21 and 8/11from 10:00 to 11:15am at the Community Park, meet at the Big Slide.

Girls Golf

Head Coach - Bob Hall; email - bdh1080@comcast.net

JV and Varsity Girls Golf practice will take place on Monday 8/9/21 to 8/12/21 from 3:00 to 5:00pm at Blue Rock Springs Golf Course.

Girls Tennis

Head Coach - Guillermo Reyes; email - greyes@stoctonfirefighters.com

Practice will take place from 8/9/21 to 8/13/21 from 3:30 to 5:30pm on tennis courts at Benicia High School.

Girls Waterpolo

Head Coach - Dave Fry; email - toofryd@gmail.com

JV and Varsity Girls Water Polo practice will take place on Monday 8/9/21 to 8/13/21 from 6:00 to 8:00pm at Cunningham Pool in Vallejo.

Boys Waterpolo

Head Coach - Dave Fry; email - toofryd@gmail.com

JV and Varsity Boys Water Polo practice will take place on Monday 8/9/21 to 8/13/21 from 7:30 to 9:30pm at Cunningham Pool in Vallejo.

Football

Head Coach - Craig Holden; email - cholden@beniciaunified.org ; cell-707-333-8588.

JV and Varsity Football practice will take place on Monday 8/9/21 to 8/13/21 from 4:00 to 6:30pm at the BHS Stadium.

Girls Volleyball

Head Coach Maynard Patascil; email bhscoachp@gmail.com or Coach Todd Ajari; email ajarit@yahoo.com

Conditioning and Clinic will run from August 2-6, 2021, 4:30-6:30pm in the BHS gym.

Girl's Volleyball Tryouts will be held August 9-12, 2021, 4:30-6:30pm in the BHS Gym.

Makeup tryouts will be held August 16-17, 4:30-6:30pm.

Masks must be worn indoors.

Student-athletes should wear the shirt color assigned to their grade level:

• Freshman-White Shirts
• Sophomores-Black Shirts
• Juniors-Yellow Shirts
• Seniors-Blue Shirts

Cheer

Cheerleading tryouts were completing in the Spring and selections were posted. Coach Kim will be sending information to the cheer team and their parents. Please contact Coach Kim for any questions or additional information: byfcoachkim@yahoo.com

Senior Counselor Mr. Keppel will be sending a letter out to seniors about the process of applications so be sure to check your student email. We will also have a Google Classroom dedicated to Seniors so that you can access information and announcements from the Counseling Office and the College & Career Center all year long.

Many of the college applications sites opened on August 1st but there is still lots of time until the November 30th deadline. We will provide you with the UC, CSU, and Common App websites and information.

FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) opens on October 1st and has a deadline of June 30th the year you need financial aid. We highly recommend submitting the FAFSA as early as possible to secure the most financial aid possible. Knowing when to apply for financial aid is critical no matter which school you’re planning to attend. There are deadlines to meet and some funding is on a first-come, first-served basis. The sooner you apply for aid, the better your chances of maximizing the amount you’ll receive. More information is available at: https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa

Want to get started early? Work on updating your resume, draft a letter to teachers and others that you would like to have write a letter of recommendation for you, starting working on your FAFSA (for financial aid), and get a great start on your Senior year classes.

District programs, activities, and practices shall be free from unlawful discrimination, including discrimination against an individual or group based on race, color, ancestry, nationality, national origin, immigration status, ethnic group identification, ethnicity, age, religion, marital status, pregnancy, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, or related recovery, parental status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or genetic information; a perception of one or more of such characteristics; or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.