Wangenheim Middle Newsletter
Volume 3, Issue I (updated August 6, 2022)
SDUSD students' in grades 6th-8th have an amazing opportunity to participate in Middle School Athletics. We invite your student to participate this upcoming Fall in either basketball or track. This opportunity is for SDUSD students only. Please fill out this form to express interest in your student participating in either basketball or track during the fall season. Tryouts September 6.
MASKING UPDATE
As a District, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been intentional in implementing strategies to keep our community safe and reduce absences due to illness – all in service of our students, staff, and community.
Effective Monday, July 18, indoor masking will be required at all schools and District offices. We will continue to monitor the COVID-19 community level according to the CDC and County data.
I hope this newsletter finds you enjoying the summer time with some fun and time to connect with friends and family. I also hope you and your student(s) are excited for the start of the 2022-2023 school year. I want to thank all our returning families for a great first year Post-COVID. It was messy and a bit crazy at times but with your support and the great students from the Mira Mesa community it was a very successful year.
In just a short couple of weeks we will start the school year and we wanted to be sure and get you some important and updated information for the Fall Semester.
We are excited to see you and your student(s) as Wangenheim Middle School continues to be one of the best Middle Schools in the San Diego School District. As most of you know, we are academically rigorous with an extensive program of elective and extracurricular opportunities. Our outstanding teachers are content experts who employ the latest in educational technology to engage students and build their 21st century skills. Building on our rigorous four core subjects, Math, Science, Social Studies, and English, our students select from a range of elective classes, including: Video Production, Band, Choir, Orchestra, Hospitality and Cooking, Spanish, Wood and Metal Shop, Exploring Tech Careers, and Student Leadership.
The strength of Wangenheim’s elective offerings is a point of Wildcat pride and an essential component in our students’ middle school experience. It is important to remember that the middle school years are a crucial time of growth, discovery and exploration.
Our highly successful P.A.W.S. (Positive Action for Wildcat Success) program fosters the character traits (responsibility, respect for others, positive attitude, and pride in their work) students need for lifelong success. Through our diligence and focus on the Wildcat Way we maintain a safe campus where students are able to challenge themselves and become stronger as a result of their successes.
As we continue to rebuild following COVID, we are looking forward to renewing our many strong partnerships with our parents and community businesses. It is with this support that we not only provide our students with an excellent academic education, but also ensure our students’ social and emotional development is maximized.
As part of our ongoing effort to maximize the potential of all our students, we created our Advanced Studies courses. These courses are modeled after the older Seminar (GATE) courses but are guided by students’ ability to perform at the highest level rather than a label earned in early elementary school with a test. Our current GATE & Seminar certified teachers lead this work which keeps high rigor and eliminates the barriers of access. If you would like for information, please see our website or contact your counselor.
Thank you for your ongoing dedication and support. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or our Associative Principal, Mrs. Susan Kent.
GO WILDCATS!
Dr. Matt Fallon, Principal
- Registrations Packets, Jul 12-21, 9:00 am-12:30 pm
- special hours Jul 20 from 4:00 pm-7:00 pm
- 6th Grade and NEW STUDENT Orientation
- ParentPortal sign up and update
- Summer Book Club
- Summer Reads and other Summer Resources
- Bell Schedule for 2022-23 School Year
- ELAC parent needs assessment
- Destiny Know what you owe
- SDUSD is hiring paraeducators
- PTSA membership drive
COMMUNITY CORNER
- East Coast Trip, 2023
- SANDAG's Youth Opportunity Transit Pass
- Waves of Honor (Sea World)
- Costa Rica, summer of 2023
- San Diego Public Library (Mira Mesa branch)
- Summer Reading Program
- CA State Library Parks Pass
Registration packets for the 2022-23 School Year can be picked up and signed from Jul 12-Jul 21 from 9:00 am-12:30 pm, Monday-Friday. Please bring a copy of your proof of residency. If you bring your student, you should be able to complete the process in approximately 15 minutes. There will be a special evening window on Jul 20 from 4:00 pm-7:00 pm. Please contact Annette Stevens, 619.605.2250 ext 3021, with any questions or concerns.
7th Grade Varicella and Tdap:
As of July 1, 2019, California Health Laws require that students entering the 7th grade must have two doses of Varicella and a Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (Tdap) booster, given after age 7, prior to entering the 7th grade. This school immunization law affects all students in public and private schools. Parents must show their child's Immunization Record as proof of immunization. Students of all grade levels (TK-12) transferring to a new school need to meet all age-appropriate immunization requirements.
This summer I will be reading two books on Amplify. I will have two zoom meetings per novel to discuss them and to see friends! The zoom links will be posted the day before the meetings. PLEASE JOIN IN!! Google classroom join code: jjl725j
Get into Amplify
- Make sure you are in the English part of Amplify by going to the three horizontal lines up in the left hand corner.
- Click on the lines and look for the tile that says ELA, click it.
- Then, click on the Library tile the "Tools" section
- Search for the title of the book.
We will then read Ungifted. --- Zoom meetings on Fridays at 1:00: July 29th and August 12th
HELLO UNIVERSE
Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly’s Hello, Universe is a funny and poignant neighborhood story about unexpected friendships.
In one day, four lives weave together in unexpected ways. Virgil Salinas is shy and kindhearted and feels out of place in his crazy-about-sports family. Valencia Somerset, who is deaf, is smart, brave, and secretly lonely, and she loves everything about nature. Kaori Tanaka is a self-proclaimed psychic, whose little sister, Gen, is always following her around. And Chet Bullens wishes the weird kids would just stop being so different so he can concentrate on basketball.
They aren’t friends, at least not until Chet pulls a prank that traps Virgil and his pet guinea pig at the bottom of a well. This disaster leads Kaori, Gen, and Valencia on an epic quest to find missing Virgil. Through luck, smarts, bravery, and a little help from the universe, a rescue is performed, a bully is put in his place, and friendship blooms.
Topic: Summer Book Club (Hello, Universe)
Time: Jul 1, 2022 01:00 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://sandiegounified.zoom.us/j/82908615701
Meeting ID: 829 0861 5701
Password: 642769
Please contact lzelman@sandi.net with any questions or concerns.
UNGIFTED
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Gordon Korman comes a hilarious and heartfelt novel in which one middle-school troublemaker accidentally moves into the gifted and talented program—and changes everything.
When Donovan Curtis pulls a major prank at his middle school, he thinks he’s finally gone too far. But thanks to a mix-up by one of the administrators, instead of getting in trouble, Donovan is sent to the Academy of Scholastic Distinction, a special program for gifted and talented students.
Although it wasn’t exactly what Donovan had intended, the ASD couldn’t be a more perfectly unexpected hideout for someone like him. But as the students and teachers of ASD grow to realize that Donovan may not be good at math or science (or just about anything), he shows that his gifts may be exactly what the ASD students never knew they needed.
For summer reading, students are encouraged to pick up sets of books by genre or visit any number of resources for eBooks. Please fill out the form below to request books. You will be emailed when your books are ready to be picked up from the front office during office hours (8:30 am-1:00 pm).
PARENT PORTAL
The Wildcat Newsletter will continue to be our vehicle for conveying important information. Please take a few minutes to verify your eMail address, phone number(s), and mailing address are correct through the Parent Portal. You can also eMail Jan Tridle or Annette Stevens, 619.605.2250.
Need to sign up for ParentPortal?
You only need to do this once. See below for directions on how to sign up for ParentPortal. Please contact Annette Stevens (astevens@sandi.net) to obtain your access ID or if you have any questions.
CHANGING BELL SCHEDULE, 2022-2023
Our official start time next year will be 8:00 am and with no other changes our regular day dismissal time will be 2:55 pm.
In order to give students enhanced learning opportunities, we will adopt a new schedule. What does this mean for the schedule? It means that one week (Week A) will look exactly as it does now, Advisory to start the day followed by six periods, 1 through 6. The next week (Week B) will be the reverse. Advisory will still start the day, but the six periods will be in reverse, from 6 to 1. The week after will return to the first week (Week A) and so on.
- Rotating will be especially significant for periods 1 and 6
- Lunch same as period 4 teacher or period 3 (every other week lunch changes- will allow students to interact with different student during lunch)
- No change in instructional minutes
- Days off have same impact on all classes
ELAC Needs Assessment
Parents of current EL students or reclassified EL students , please take a few minutes to complete the form below. Please contact Karina Reyes, English Learner Coordinator, with any questions or concerns.
SUMMER MEALS FOR KIDS
All schools in the San Diego Unified School District have "hot weather" plans in place for continued operations of schools during periods of extremely hot weather. The guidelines for the plans are outlined in Administrative Procedure 4032.
A letter was sent to parents via email on April 7, 2022 outlining this information. Click here to read the letter in English or Spanish.
Know what you owe
Please go to Destiny Discover to find out what is owed and what remains on your record.
- Take the link to Wangenheim’s Destiny Discover (https://search.follettsoftware.com/metasearch/ui/37669)
- Log in with your UserName(District ID) and Password.
- To check what is on your record, choose MyStuff tab. Here you will be able to see all current checkouts and fines
- Please contact Mrs. Minezaki (pminezaki@sandi.net) with any questions
SDUSD now hiring Paraeducators
PE Clothes
Students will be “dressing out” for PE and participating on the fields. PE classes will not suit up the first week of school. The cost is $25.00 (cash, check, or debit/credit card). Students may opt to purchase a plain gray t-shirt and navy athletic shorts.
For colder weather, PE sweats are also available for purchase.
Show your school spirit
Students, come buy Wangenheim t-shirts and hoodies before school in Room 902. Check and cash only please.
- T-shirts..................$9.00
- Baseball t-shirts...$16.00
- Hoodies................$26.00
Stay Informed
- Wangenheim Newsletter - posted usually twice a month usually on Sunday nights at 6:00 pm
- Principal's Coffee - held monthly on Wednesday mornings
- Wangenheim Website - updated on an ongoing basis
- District Website
COMMUNITY CORNER
East Coast Trip 2023
7th grade families! Have you been wanting the details for the 8th grade East Coast trip but missed the meeting? You are in luck! We recorded it and have the link here.
East Coast Trip Informational Meeting: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14jW5Gg6XqmfRbM_kYNvlMrxo12bdQJ7L/view
If you already know you definitely want to sign up, and don't need to watch the meeting, you can go directly to www.worldstrides.org and register using the trip ID # 203214
If you have questions, please email jchambless@sandi.net and lcoppola@sandi.net.
SANDAG's Youth Opportunity Transit Pass allows anyone 18 and under to ride San Diego transit (bus, trolley, Coaster, and Sprinter) for free for the next 14 months starting on May 1. There are several ways children and families can take advantage of this opportunity, such as using their existing online bus pass or getting a hard copy card through SANDAG.
DATES TO REMEMBER
- June 21 until July 22 - LEVEL UP summer experience
- August 29 - First day of 2022-23 School Year
- September 5 - Labor Day observance
- September 14 and 15 - 12:48 dismissal
- September 22- 12:48 dismissal, Back to School Night