Paly Community Update
Friday, October 9, 2020
Student activity is slowly making its way back to Paly. Last week, we welcomed additional students from our Futures program and members of TEAM. The TEAM Swag Event was a way for TEAM students to have an initial in-person connection in a COVID safe way. Students filled out a survey of interests and potential buddies they would like to be with then put into small consistent learning groups of a maximum of fourteen students plus one of their TEAM teachers.
During their group time, students participated in a variety of team-building activities, led by teachers and student leaders. As students arrived, they were presented with some TEAM Swag, including a T-shirt, facemask, mug, and a Paly Planner. The SWAG event was the COVID replacement for TEAM’s usual opening event, an overnight camping trip and low ropes course held at Foothills park. The event’s purpose was to build and connect students in order to form relationships of trust. Thanks TEAM staff for providing our students with a safe opportunity to make connections.
Viking Senior Parent Opportunity
A message from the Madrono Yearbook Staff
Senior parents: do you need more information or help with your senior's baby ad? Come to our baby ad workshop on Oct 8th. More information at https://palymadrono.com/
The final deadline to submit your baby ads, senior portraits and senior quotes is Friday October 16th! If you have any questions please contact us at babyads.madrono@gmail.com
Paly VAPA Happenings
Our excellent VAPA department has created a blog, where you can access student projects and performances. Here is the link: VAPA’s blog Our VAPA students and staff have been working hard at continuing to find ways to keep the arts thriving. When you have a second or need a break, take a look at all the wonderful projects that are going on at Paly during distance learning.
This weekend our Paly Choirs have their first concert “Evening Song” which is a ½ hour of music for spirituality, reflection, and cultural celebration. Starts Sunday at 8pm and will be livestreamed on our Youtube channel. Hope you can make it.
Important Reminders About Visiting the PALY Campus:
- Visits are made by appointment only. Please either email a PALY staff member or call the Office at 650-339-3701 to schedule a time to come to our campus.
- While on campus, everyone needs to adhere to social distancing guidelines. Please stay at least 6 feet apart from other individuals.
- Individuals will need to wear masks while on campus.
- Individuals must leave campus immediately after their appointment is complete. No socializing or loitering on campus is allowed.
Tutoring Center Seeking Tutors
We are always looking for students to help out in our virtual tutoring center. If you think your student would make an excellent tutor, please encourage them to contact Ms. Bawa. Below is more information:
Want to help out a fellow student?
Looking for community service hours?
Become a Peer Tutor!
We’re looking for tutors in all subjects who are available after school Mondays-Thursdays. Email Ms. Bawa at palyarc@pausd.org to get started.
Paly Guidance
Advisory
Week of 9/28
- 11th grade: Lesson slide deck. The Juniors had a very full Advisory last week! They ordered a copy of their transcript from Parchment on paly.net which they then used as reference to understand graduation requirements vs. CSU/UC eligibility requirements. Leading into the lesson they heard a testing update from Ms. Cernobori, one of our College Advisors. We know this is a hot topic and most students were happy to hear her message. If you’d like to hear what she has to say, click on the slide deck and scroll to slide 9. If your student found errors on their transcript and submitted it to our registrar, please give it a few weeks to be corrected as she is prioritizing the senior transcripts at this time.
- 9th grade: Keeping in mind our program objectives for the year are to facilitate meaningful connection, growth, and guidance, we have been embedding more time within Advisory for check-ins along with the specific lesson meetings. This time will be used in several ways - for individual meetings, to hear specific messages, and sometimes to just have fun together. Even though Advisory is the vehicle we use at Paly to deliver many Guidance Dept. objectives, we also want it to be a place where students get support and connect with their peers.
Week of 10/5
- 12th grade: College Essay Slide Deck . This week we meet again with our seniors. Most are knee-deep in college applications and looking for direction about their apps. This lesson is full of information about college essays - from choosing a topic or prompt, to tips for putting your best self forward. There will also be some timely announcements shared. If you’d like to read more about those, click here.
- 9th grade: It’s Wellness Week at Paly! Our Wellness Team has been busy creating a Virtual Wellness Fair with many opportunities for students to hear from guest organizations. In Advisory, the freshman will attend a presentation and panel discussion facilitated by SafeSpace. Friday is a check in - students can ask for a meeting with their TA - it‘s the perfect time if they have individual questions or concerns.
Junior and Freshman Parent Nights
Thank for you joining us on 9/30/20 for the Junior Parent Night. Here is a link to the slide deck and the questions we were unable to answer in real-time.
Thank you for joining us on 10/7/20 for the Freshman Parent Night. Here is a link to the slide deck.
College and Career Center
Financial Aid Webinars
Staff from Stanford’s Financial Aid Office will host a “What You Need to Know About Financial Aid” webinar for high school parents and students. The discussion will describe the financial aid application process to any college or university for current high school seniors and their parents; they will also share tips about submitting the FAFSA. Seniors, Juniors, Sophomores and their parents are welcome as well.
Dates & Registration Links:
Wednesday, October 14, 6:00 PM
https://stanford.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TvRNVLYWQDWO6VkkgKCXXg
Thursday, October 22, 6:00 PM
https://stanford.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RY0i1untQ6q1Pej1DPNDqw
Tuesday, October 27, 6:00 PM
https://stanford.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__fUD9OmzTNKALfPr6PR26Q
For more information about financial aid and scholarship resources, please visit the Financial Aid and Scholarships page on paly.net/college.
Upcoming College Application Virtual Events for Seniors
Cover Sheet workshop - Thurs., Oct. 15 at 3:10 pm
UC Application & Personal Insight Questions (PIQ) Case Study - Tues., Oct. 20 at 3:10 pm (Note: this event lasts 1 hour)
These Paly events are a time for students to get questions answered and/or work on your applications with College Advisors in the “room” to offer assistance and advice. Please find the Zoom meeting ID in the event on the C&CC Class of 2021 Schoology course calendar. These workshops are for students, only.
Community Service
Senior’s community service hours have been added to transcripts. If you are viewing a transcript from a date prior to Oct. 1st, you will need to request a new transcript viewing.
Juniors, Sophomores and Freshmen: The community service team is reviewing your submissions for the President’s Award (PVSA) and an email will be sent to you if there are questions or concerns regarding your submission.
All community service hours must be entered on HelperHelper (HH). If you need help with accessing your HH account, please contact klarson@pausd.org
Transcripts
Transcripts ordered through parchment have a turnaround time of 24-48 hours to be released (not including weekends). For prior approved courses taken over the summer, an official transcript must be sent to Merilyn Tonga (mtonga@pausd.org) directly from the institution/college.