Designers' Reminders
October 8, 2023
Weekly Messaging from Design39Campus
Here What's Happening in the Month of October
- October 9th: Indigenous Peoples' Day
- October 13: Coffee with the Design Facilitators/ELAC
- October 19: Great California Shakeout
- October 21: The D39C Collaborative's Fall Carnival
- October 23-27: Red Ribbon Week
- October 31: Halloween
Facilitators' Findings
On Autumn.
With the change from summer to fall, I recently found myself thumbing through my well-worn chapbook containing the odes of John Keats and again fell for my favorite, "To Autumn"-- a poem that can't be bettered. The poem speaks of life, transience, and mortality, inviting contemplation and eliciting melancholy. Keats captures the bittersweet and paradoxical nature of autumn, where the beauty of the season is imbued with the awareness of its ephemeral nature and its role as the foreboding harbinger of winter. Keats insists we resist lingering in the bygone past or musing on the impossible future. Instead, Keats reminds us, "Think not of them, [autumn] hast thy music too."
In short, in the immortal words of the world's most preeminent teenage existential philosopher (who still doesn't have a car): "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
Looking forward (but also side to side).
Coffee with the Design Facilitators
We look forward to seeing you on Friday the 13th at 9:15 am in the Gallery for coffee and conversation with the Design Facilitators. Right after the coffee, our EL Lead LED, Tom Downs, will be hosting our first English Learner Advisory Meeting (ELAC) of the 2023-2024 school year. ELAC makes recommendations regarding programs for students with second language needs. The purpose of ELAC is to provide parents/guardians of English Learners opportunities to learn more about the programs offered to their students and participate in our site's needs assessment of students, parents, and LEDs.
What Makes You, You?
We are working on a design instillation for the Welcome Center and are seeking your active participation. When you have some time, would you mind clicking on the photo to left and adding a few characteristics that help comprise your identity.
Thank you. More to come.
Former D39C Student Making a Difference
Last year, former D39C student, Risha Guha, conducted an Introduction to Cybersecurity workshop for D39C 4th and 5th grade students. The students were very engaged and benefitted from the presentation. Following the workshop, a few students even qualified for CyberAegis as incoming 6th graders, which is a very impressive accomplishment.
This year, Risha and a few teammates and have started a club at DNHS (Cyber Community Education Outreach Initiative, abbreviated as CyberCEO) to spread cybersecurity awareness in our community. They are primarily focusing on teaching upper elementary students and senior citizens the basic skills that they need to stay cyber safe. Risha is the vice president and Director of Curriculum for this club. October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and they are hosting a workshop series for elementary school students during this time. They are looking to expand our program to additional PUSD elementary schools in order to explore opportunities to spread our impact across a broader community!
Risha and her teammates were here this week presenting to our 4/5 students. They did an amazing job and we are incredibly proud of the difference she is making. She is a thought leader, elevating humanity.
Couraging with Design
Equitable Spaces
Equity at Design39Campus
October is “Celebrating the Bilingual Student” month. Did you know that at D39C we have over 339 students that are bilingual or their family speaks a language other than English at home? And that doesn’t include the teachers and staff that are bilingual as well. There are at least 37 different languages spoken at Design39Campus.
We also encourage you to learn about some of the cultures and celebrations that are represented in our community. October is the beginning of LGBTQ History Month, Filipino Heritage Month, German Heritage Month, and Italian American Heritage and Culture Month. Please use the hyper links for more information. There are activities, events, links for further reading and more!
Join us as we learn about, champion, and celebrate, what makes us uniquely different as individuals and what binds us together as one family. This is what makes us exceptional.
NP4H: Design39Campus is No Place for Hate school. Our No Place For Hate Student committee meets the first Tuesday of each month to prepare and organize four school-wide activities. The goal is to continue to help create and sustain an inclusive school environment where all students feel valued and have the opportunity to succeed by promoting respect for individual difference while challenging bigotry and prejudice. All activities will implement either anti-bias, anti-bullying, inclusion, or diversity issues. Please contact Andrea Guevara for any inquiries.
D39C BSU: As a reminder, D39C Black Student Union meets every other Monday at lunch in the Counseling Center. BSU serves as a safe space whose purpose is to cultivate cultural awareness and discuss issues preliminary affecting the black community. Students of all backgrounds and races are welcome to attend all meetings and events. Please contact Matt Bibby for any inquiries.
On the Horizon: Asian American Pacific Islanders Club (AAPI) and Latin America Student Organization (LASO). Stay tuned.
Monday, October 9th is Indigenous Peoples' Day
Design39Campus has always always called this place home, but even as we celebrate our opportunity to learn and design here, we want to take a moment to pause, reflect, and honor those who were here long, long before us. We acknowledge that the land upon which our campus resides carries the footsteps of millennia of Kumeyaay people.
Since time immemorial, these original inhabitants were stewards of the land before they were dispossessed of their indigenous homeland and forcibly removed to places throughout San Diego County and Baja California. They are a people whose traditional lifeways intertwine with a worldview of earth and sky in a community of living beings. This land is part of a relationship that has nourished, healed, protected, and embraced the Kumeyaay people to the present day. We promote this balance in life as we pursue our goals of knowledge and understanding. We find inspiration in the Kumeyaay spirit to open our minds and hearts.
Today, the Kumeyaay people continue to maintain their political sovereignty and cultural traditions, and they continue to make important contributions to their communities, to California, and to the world.
It is important to acknowledge those indigenous people who called this place home and recognize that we are here because of the sacrifices forced upon them. In remembering these communities, we honor their legacy, their lives, and their descendants — past, present, and future.
We are committed to celebrating all students, recognizing and combating wrongs of the past, and honoring the many cultures who make up our school community. Together, on this sacred land, we strive to make a difference.
For additional information on the Kumeyaay, please click on the picture to the left.
Welcome Center Information
IMPORTANT: Volunteer Update
We were recently notified by PUSD that a new Megan’s Law Background Check must be completed each school year, along with signing the Code of Conduct and Code of Confidentiality for both Level 1 and Level 2 volunteers.
Previously approved volunteers are being notified by the Collaborative.
We thank you for your patience as you complete this process. We appreciate each and every volunteer for supporting Design39Campus.
Please reach out to the Welcome Center or CLICK HERE for additional information.
Advancement Via Individual Determination
AVID Tip of Month
Design39Campus is proud to have the AVID Elective as an offering for our 6/7/8 students this year. AVID's mission is to close the opportunity gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global society. This is a great addition to our campus.
Our AVID tip of the month is about focusing on work:
Does your child struggle to keep focused on a task for more than a few minutes? Consider using the Pomodoro Technique! Set a timer for 25 minutes, remove distractions, and work until the timer goes off. Then, take a 5-minute break, reset, and start again! Your child can adjust it to their abilities: some students can work for an hour straight while others may reach their limits at 15 minutes. Either way, this technique help creates a structure that they can follow and help them reflect on their work habits. If you'd like a digital tool to help out, click here: LINK
Counseling Connections
Wake Me Up When September Ends
Below is a look back at a very busy and productive month from our Student Support Services team. They were very much awake.
Our Outstanding Team
Matt Bibby (last names A-I): mbibby@powayusd.com
Jennifer Asmann (last names J-R): jasmann@powayusd.com
Andrea Guevara (last names S-Z): aguevara@powayusd.com
Curricular Insights
New Year, New Curriculum, New Awesome
While assessing data from the 2022-2023 school year, PUSD identified a need for additional K-2 professional learning around foundational skills, specifically phonics and phonemic awareness. In response to that identified need, we have partnered with Institute for Multi-Sensory Education (IMSE) to provide an intensive five-day professional learning for every K-2 LED in foundational reading between August of 2022 and October 2023. IMSE’s mission is to empower districts, schools, LEDs, and parents to be agents of change toward equitable literacy instruction for all learners that is driven by research. This is accomplished through intellectual conversations driven by data to design and implement curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices. IMSE fosters relationships to help shift a school’s culture to be equitable for all.
In addition to IMSE, PUSD has also adopted Illustrative Math (IM) for Tk-5. IM is a problem-based core curriculum built on the principle that all students are capable learners of grade-level mathematics. Students learn math by doing math. They are encouraged to use their current understanding of math, their lived experiences, and the world around them as resources for problem solving. By starting with what students already know, LEDs invite all students to contribute to mathematical learning, centering student thinking, and being responsive as students develop conceptual understanding.
These curricular updates, in addition to our renewed commitment to PLTW, means our students will be well prepared to serve as thought leaders elevating humanity.
Traffic Update
Please continue to be kind, thoughtful, patient, and courteous during drop-off and pick-up, especially to the housing developments surrounding D39C. We have had a number of neighbors reach out to the Welcome Center to report uncouth behavior by drivers and parkers alike in our community. Remember, we want to serve as good stewards for the community, and even better example for our students.
The Wellness Center
Medication at School: If your child requires medication at school, the “Authorization for Medication Administration” form must be completed and signed by a CA physician and parents. The form can be located in the link below. All medication must be provided in the original container along with the completed medical form by an adult to the school site on or before the first day of school. This form is required for all prescription and over the counter medications including but not limited to supplements, cough drops, inhalers, acetaminophen & ibuprofen, etc. If your child needs to self-carry a medication, please contact the school site health technician for guidance.
Authorization for Medication Administration
Authorization to Self-Carry Medication
For children with allergies, please provide the Life-Threatening Allergy form signed by a CA physician and parents along with an epi-pen to the health office by the first day of school.
For additional information on student medication and medication administration, please visit the PUSD Health Services webpage.
Lofty Ideas
This past week, October 1-7, is Banned Books Week. During the week, fourth and fifth grade designers engaged in discussions around censorship and wrestled with differing perspectives around unorthodox topics/books.
ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago.
“The theme for Banned Books Week 2023 is "Let Freedom Read." When we ban books, we're closing off readers to people, places, and perspectives. But when we stand up for stories, we unleash the power that lies inside every book. We liberate the array of voices that need to be heard and the scenes that need to be seen. Let freedom read!” (ALA.org)
Would you like to become a part of the Design39Campus Team? Do you like to be outside and work with children? If so, we are looking for a few quality Motion Managers to help support our designers during body breaks and lunch during the middle of the day. Possible times are 10:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. or 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. If interested, please apply through Poway Unified School District at the following link:
Redundant Repetitious Reiterating Repeated Recurrent Routine Reminders
Yes, You Have Seen This Before
D39C Halloween Costume Requirements: If your student chooses to dress up for Halloween, we ask that the following guidelines be observed:
No weapons. Knives, guns, or batons are not permitted at school. If your child does have these items, they will be removed and returned at the end of the day
No costumes that depict violence, alcohol, or drugs
No masks, face coverings, or face paint. Students' faces must be visible throughout the school day
No costumes that could be offensive. i.e., a stereotype of someone’s culture, gender, heritage, or religion
We also ask that you save your scary costumes for the evening, sending your child in attire that will not “scare or spook” our young designers. Students wearing questionable costumes will be asked to change into appropriate school attire.
Attendance: To report your child's absence or early checkout, please email the attendance office at d39cattendance@powayusd.com before 10:00 am on the day of the absence. Please include your child's name, homeroom/grade, dates of absence, and reason for absence. We kindly ask that you avoid checking out your student during the lunch period from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. Please refer to the attendance section of our Design39Campus website for protocols regarding reporting student absences and requesting early release for your student.'
California Education Code 48205 states that a student may be excused legally from school when the absence is due to:
- Personal illness or injury
- Quarantine under the direction of a county or city health office
- Medical, dental, or chiropractic services
- Attendance at funeral services for a member of the immediate family
- Justifiable personal reasons, including, but not limited to, an appearance in court, observance of a holiday or ceremony of his or her religion, attendance at religious retreats, attendance at an employment conference, when the pupil's absence has been requested in writing by the parent and approved by the principal or designated representative
- For the purpose of serving as a member of a precinct board for an election
- Exclusion for failure to present evidence of immunization
- Exclusion from school because student is either the carrier of a contagious disease or not immunized for a contagious disease
Drop Off/Pick Up Reminders: Please remind your designers that they should be walking their bikes, e-bikes, scooters, skateboards, hoverboards, horses, segways, pogo-sticks, unicorns, and unicycles when on D39C campus. Also, while we love puppers and always want to pet them when we see them, please refrain from bringing them on campus during drop off and pick up. Thank you.
Communication with your Designer: If there is a need to communicate with your child during the school day, please send a message to your child’s LED or the Welcome Center. Please refrain from communicating with them directly through text messages or phone calls as it disrupts their learning.
Personal Items: For equity reasons, we are asking that students keep their personal playground equipment at home or in their backpack. Our wonderful Collaborative supplies us with enough funding to ensure that there is enough equipment during recess and lunch.
Lost and Found: Missing something? Water Bottle? A lunch box? A jacket? Two jackets? A tape deck, some Creedence tapes, a briefcase filled with some business papers, a rug that really tied the room together? Our lost and found carts are already filling up! The carts can be found outside the main gate before school and after school. Come, find yourself. The lost and found cart will be donated in a few weeks.
The Design39Campus Collaborative
The D39C Collaborative is a 100% volunteer-run foundation designed to be responsive to the needs of students, parents, and learning experience designers of Design39Campus. Once a year, the D39C Collaborative secures funding to expand and enhance the educational experience of every student attending Design39Campus.
This year’s 39 days of giving campaign was the school’s most successful yet. Thank you so much to all our generous families.
What's Up With Poway Unified?
Parent Education Courses: PUSD is excited offer several Parent Education courses each month. Families are able to enroll and pay online at via Poway Adult School on their website linked HERE. You can search for the course you are interested in and enroll directly from the site.
October 2023 Parent Education Courses:
- Talking and Listening to Your Kids – 6th -12th Grade NEW
- Early Childhood Development: Shaping the Mindset TK-3rd Grade NEW
- Help Your Children Manage Stress and Anxiety – TK-5th Grade
- Using your Strengths to Navigate Life Storms – All Grades NEW
- Help Your Teen Manage Stress and Anxiety – 6th-12th Grade NEW
- Developing an Effective Individualized Education Program – All Grades
- Empowering Parents with Consequences that Work – TK-5th Grade NEW
Please note, scholarships are available to parents who may be in need. Parent can contact the Caring Connections Center for more information.
Thank you for supporting our PUSD Parent Education and for all you do for our students and families! May you have an amazing 2023-2024 school year!
Food and Nutrition Updates and Reminders: School breakfast and school lunch are FREE for all enrolled students, every school day. Meals must still be entered into the cafeteria computer by individual student account.
Even though meals are free, families are still highly encouraged to complete the application for free and reduced-price meal eligibility. School site funding depends in part on the number of students eligible for free/reduced-price meals. Families that qualify for free/reduced-price meals may qualify for other benefits, as well. The meal application is available online at MySchoolApps.com.
Printer-friendly PDF menus are available on the PUSD Food and Nutrition webpage. At the top of the page, click or hover over School Menus + and then Printable PDF Menus.
Interactive, web-based menus containing nutrient and allergen details are available at MySchoolMenus.com, as well as via links from the F&N webpage.