April Observances -

Arab American Heritage Month

Autism Acceptance Month

Month of the Military Child

National Volunteer Month

Ramadan - April 2 to May 2

May Observances -

Asian American and Pacific Islander Month

Haitian Heritage Month

Jewish American Heritage Month

Speech and Hearing Awareness Month

Mental Health Awareness Month

May 1 - 12th Day of Ridvan (Baha'i)

May 2 - Eid ul Fitr (Muslim)

May 5 - Cinco de Mayo

May 6 - Vesak Day (Buddhist)

May 8 - Mother's Day

May 21 - World Day of Cultural Diversity

May 30 - Memorial Day (no school)

Mesa Verde Events -

Wear School Colors (black, purple, teal) every Friday

May 2-6 - 6th Grade Camp

May 2-6 - 8th Grade CA Science Test (schoolwide block day schedule Monday & Tuesday)

May 4 - May the Fourth be with You, Star Wars Spirit Day

May 9-13 - MVMS Teacher & Staff Appreciation

May 9-13 - 6th - 8th Grade ELA CAASPP Testing (Schedule TBA)

May 16-19 - 6th - 8th Grade Math CAASPP Testing (Schedule TBA, no late start Wednesday)

• Parents of 6th Grade Campers please see update below.
• Keep your student home and call the attendance office (858-538-5478 x. 3104) if your student is sick.
  
• Join the PTSA today (Information available below)
• Follow Mesa Verde and Principal Moore on Instagram @mesaverdems and @principal_moore!

NEW! before a title within the newsletter denotes that it is a new posting this week.

• NEW! Teacher Appreciation Week
• NEW! Message from the Principal
• NEW! PTSA 8th Grade Promotion Yard Signs
  
• NEW! Library is accepting art supplies for Teacher Appreciation Week
• NEW! 6th Grade Olympics on May 20th
• NEW! 8th Grade California Science Test Schedule

• Attention 6th and 7th graders interested in applying for next year’s yearbook staff

• 8th Grade Students enter the 8th Grade 2022 Promotion Cover Contest
• Parents of 6th Grade Campers
• NEW! Congratulations Alex Tang!
• NEW! Congratulations Elizabeth Weng!
• Friendly Reminder: Checking Out Your Student Early
  
• ASES has Before and After School Openings
• COVID Guidelines in a School Setting
• Newsletter, Website, Social Media Request Form
  
• Running Late?
• Charges for Damaged Chromebooks
• Did You Know...
• Join PTSA Today
• No Place For Hate Club
• Caring Connections Counseling
• Parent Education
• Volunteers/Job Opportunities
• Additional Information and Links
• Contact Us

Next week, May 2 - May 6 is National Teacher Appreciation Week. Our official MVMS celebration will be the week of May 9 - May 13 due to 6th Grade Camp next week. Please join us in celebrating our great teachers who make such a big difference in our students’ lives.

As I was working on my weekly staff email, I counted the days remaining in the year and there are only 27.5 school days left! I cannot believe it! While we are nearing the end of the year, our events are definitely not slowing down. Keep your eye on the calendar so you don't miss any of the end of year performances or activities!

This week our 6th grade students and staff have been preparing for camp, but have not been slowing down on their academics. Students in 6th grade math were working on finding area and perimeter; students were working on mnemonic strategies; students were writing narratives, learning about other people's experiences and perspectives, and working on their Civil War Portfolios in Humanities classes. Next week kicks off state testing with the CAST - our 8th Grade Science Test.

We also had a great week connecting with our colleagues and families through a Mesa Verde Foundation Meet & Greet, a Middle School Redesign Committee Meeting, our Site/District Equity Team Meeting, and our final Community Conversation Meeting around Racial Equity. We look forward to coming together over the next few weeks to celebrate the end of a wonderful year!

And finally, we’d like to take a minute to recognize our amazing office and support staff. This week was Admin Professionals Week and we know that our school could not function without our admin professionals! We are so grateful for all they do each and every day to support students and the operations of our school.

Have a beautiful weekend!

Your Proud Principal,

Kellie

Hey 8th Grade families! Promotion is only a few weeks away! To help celebrate, your PTSA has created congratulatory yard signs for every 8th grader at Mesa Verde this year. And they're FREE! Like last year, members of the PTSA will happily deliver these signs to your home if you live within the 92129 zip code and you fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/9rBy6UgBjC3CySoJA. If you choose not to have your child's sign delivered or you live in another area, you can pick a sign up in the front office of the school. We'll let you know when they're ready!

Our library is creating a station for our students to create signs and cards for their teachers during Teacher Appreciate Week.

Any donation is appreciated and the items requested are:

Color or Cardstock Paper

Cards

Markers for writing

Markers for drawing

Markers for writing

Sharpies

Colored pencils

Stickers

Anything to get the creative side flowing…

For more information you can contact:

Heather Ryan hryan@powayusd.com or Heather Ferguson at hferguson@powayusd.com.

Our 6th Grade Olympics is on Friday, May 20th during the school day with opening ceremonies around 9:00AM.

Students, please plan on bringing a hat, snacks/food, plenty of water, chair, or towel to sit on, and decks of cards to occupy your time.

Next week, May 2-6, our 8th grade students will participate in our annual California Science Test (CAST). We encourage students to get a good night's sleep each night, eat a healthy breakfast, drink lots or water, and most importantly, try their very best!

While 8th grade students will be the only students testing, ALL students will follow the schedule below.

Design a cover for the 8th grade promotion program.

Please read & follow these directions very carefully if you’d like your entry to be considered:

• Use an 8.5 x 11 sheet of plain white paper.

• Fold it in half taco-style.

• Design the cover on the right half only. See diagram below.

• Leave a ½ inch margin on all four sides of the right half.

• You may want to outline the margins with a border.

• Include the following information on the cover:

• MVMS or Mesa Verde Middle School (Choose one.)

• Class of 2022 (Do NOT include a specific date.)

• You must design/create an illustration that is appropriate for 8th grade promotion.

-You may want to include something to reference the special circumstances that we find ourselves in as a result of the Coronavirus.

-You might include the word Eagles and/or a picture of an eagle, but other appropriate illustrations are okay, too. Be creative!

• You may type or hand-write the wording. You may use computer graphics or draw your own illustration (s).

• Use bold black ink or a fine-tipped black felt pen. No pencil lines may show.

• Do NOT color the illustration.

• Erase all pencil marks using a good eraser that doesn’t smudge.

• Write your name and room number on the left half for identification purposes only, NOT on the cover.

• Edit your spelling and capitalization carefully!

The winning entries will be published as the cover for the promotion programs!

Submit your entry to Mrs. McKercher in room 511.

Please include your name and humanities teacher’s name in the email.

The submission are due by Friday, April 29th, 2022.

Late entries will not be accepted.

We'd like to congratulate 6th Grader, Alex Tang, for being honored with the President's Volunteer Service Award by the International Culture Communication Institution (ICCI)! Alex has demonstrated his passion for being a compassionate team builder and a multi-cultural aware citizen. Alex is being honored because of his work with the ESC (English-Spanish-Chinese) Club and FIRST LEGO League Volunteering programs. Please take a moment to read what the Director of ICCI sent to us about Alex's work over the past year.

ESC Club Volunteering program:

ESC Club is English-Spanish-Chinese culture and language exchange program which provides an amazing opportunity for the Hispanic community around the border of San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico to improve Hispanic kids’ English conversation capability. Since June, 2021, Alex sacrificed his personal time, showed initiative, care, and responsibility. He and his Spanish studying friends spent one hour each week to assist with the lead coach in creating the ESC Club which offered the learning opportunity to these Hispanic kids and helps them to build relationships with kids from other cultural backgrounds and exchange life experiences with them.

FLL STEM Volunteering program:

FIRST LEGO League introduces science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to children ages 4-16* through fun, exciting hands-on learning. Alex has participated in this program and associated contest since 2019. With three years’ experience, Alex has offered his knowledge to the local enrichment after school for Volunteering class. In the Winter break 2021, Alex designed and taught three days FLL introduction class as a local enrichment program. He always comes fully prepared, teaches with patience and a serious attitude, and finds creative ways such as designing various games to keep his young students engaged. Alex will continue his FLL Volunteering class in the coming Summer 2022.

Congratulations on all your hard work, Alex!

Congratulations to our very own Elizabeth Weng on winning the title of Miss Junior Teen Poway, 1st Princess! Elizabeth, a 7th grader, faced a four person panel where she had to deliver a speech, participate in an interview, and answer an impromptu question. Elizabeth will be spending over 200 hours volunteering around Poway over the next year as part of her role as Miss Junior Teen Poway, 1st Princess!

Congratulations, Elizabeth!

OFF CAMPUS PASSES (Early Release):

Student safety is a major concern for us. Students must be signed out at the attendance desk before departing early. Students are not allowed to wait in front of the school to be picked up during school hours.

If your student needs to leave early from school, please send a note with your student. Notes should be given to the Attendance secretary, NOT your student's teacher, before school. Calling the school in advance, or sending a note, will prevent delays for you (such as trying to get your student while they are running cross-country) and will help us to minimize interruptions to the classrooms. If you schedule a last minute appointment to send a note you may call the Attendance Hotline @ 538-5692 to have an off campus pass sent to your student.

When writing a note please indicate:

• Your student's first and last name
• Reason for leaving
• The time your student needs to leave school
• Whether or not your student will return that day

Please meet your child at the attendance desk to be signed out at the time of departure. Be prepared to show your identification when checking out your child.

If your student returns to school after being picked up early, please have him/her check back in at the Attendance desk before heading to class.

Click on each flyer to enlarge for details.

You can fill out an interest form here.

• COVID-19 Decision Trees for K-12 Schools link here.
• To determine your next step if you have symptoms, use the e-Decision Tree Survey available here.

If you have information you would like included in our weekly newsletter, on our website, or on our school's social media platforms, please use use this link to submit your request. Your request does NOT guarantee that your information will be included. Please note that we may edit your submission (content, length, etc.) but will contact you if our edits would change or remove pertinent information.

We hope this will help streamline the way we collect and are able to share information with our staff, students, and community.

We hope all of our students are on time to school and ready to learn when the bell rings; however, we know that things can sometimes cause you to be delayed on your way to school. If your student is going to be late, please either call the attendance office or come in with your child to sign them in. Doing either of these will allow us to excuse the tardy. Thanks for your help!

According to Board Policy 6161.2, when materials are lost or so damaged that they are no longer usable, the student shall be immediately issued a replacement material. However, students or parents/guardians shall be responsible for reparation equal to the current replacement cost of the materials. PUSD Information Technology Department has provided a list of charges for various damage scenarios.

Chromebook/ Chromebook Accessories

Damaged/Lost Chromebook ($238.00)

Power Adapter/Charger ($30.00)

LCD Screen Replacement ($69.00)

LCD Top Cover ($69.00)

Palmrest/Keyboard/Touchpad replacement ($109.00)

Base Plate/Assembly ($69.00)

Keyboard/2 or more keys missing ($59.00)

Chromebook case ($33.00)

When a chromebook is damaged, students are responsible for the cost of the repair. Any students who have had damage to their chromebook this year have already had a charge added to their Destiny account. Next week, we will begin sending emails to families with a repair charge to provide information on how to pay for those repair costs.

Many of the damages we have seen so far this year could have been avoided. Please take a few minutes to speak with your child(ren) about the cost to repair these damages and remind them that their chromebook is theirs until it has to be "retired." We appreciate your support!

It’s that time of year that we begin to start planning for our 8th graders transition to high school. If you have an older child and have been through this, you are probably more at ease than a parent who is approaching this transition for the first time. Our 8th graders often feel great anticipation and excitement as they make the last major transition within their K-12 education. We hope that the information below eases any questions that you might be having. The MVMS Counselors and HS Counselors are here to help and guide you and your 8th grader through this transition.

What School Does My Child Attend?

Most of our Mesa Verde Families are slated for their 8th graders to attend Westview High School.

● We also have other families who are slated to attend Mt. Carmel High School, in addition to families that live in a zone that can choose either school.

○ The families that can choose receive a letter from PUSD with a date in which they need to confirm their high school choice.

● Lastly we have families with intradistrict transfers who may be slated to attend Poway HS, Rancho Bernardo HS or Del Norte HS. If you reside within PUSD or outside of PUSD boundaries and want your child to attend another high school which he/she is not slated to attend, you will need to complete a transfer request located on PUSD website: https://www.powayusd.com/en-US/Departments/Attendance-Discipline/Student-Transfer-Requests/FAQs-for-Residency-Transfers This link contains transfer information on both intradistrict (residing within PUSD) and interdistrict (residing outside of PUSD). If you are requesting a transfer and you reside within PUSD, your child will still need to complete the course selection for the high school he/she should attend. Once the transfer request has been approved, the course selection will be transferred to the high school he/she is approved to attend. The transfer window is open from February 1, 2022 to March 31, 2022, until 5 pm.

Presentations:

On March 8th, all MVMS 8th grade students will hear presentations from a Westview School Counselor in their Humanities Classes. On March 10th all 8th grade students who are slated to attend Mt. Carmel will be invited to attend a lunchtime presentation in the Eagle Center facilitated by a Mt. Carmel School Counselor. Any of our 8th grade students who are interested in hearing about Mt. Carmel are welcome to drop by and listen as well.

● After these presentations, each HS will typically post their slideshow on their website.

● You will also find information regarding 8th grade family nights that our high schools facilitate on their campuses.

· These evening presentations are for both the student and parent/guardian to attend and go over much of the information that students hear when counselors visit their school sites.

· In addition, this allows for an opportunity to get a feel of the layout of the campus.

· Families are welcome to attend any of the Family Night presentations at any of the schools (in case you want to know further information if you are thinking of a transfer request). Check the high school websites at the end of February for this information.

· 8th grade students will need to begin to think about their course selection for high school and begin entering courses online through student vue when the window to do so opens.

· Students who have an IEP will have a transition meeting scheduled in which course selection will be discussed.

Link to PUSD High Schools Information and Family Nights: https://sites.google.com/powayusd.com/pusd8thgradecrf/home

Parents, A new year is a great time to head back to school! Poway Adult School offers low-cost career training classes for you to upskill. Just need some help tuning up your resume or someone to discuss a career change idea? The Poway (Unified) Adult School provides free career guidance, high school diploma classes for adults and GED prep as well. Call Jon at (858) 668-4022 or go online at www.powayadultschool.com and check out our catalog pages 5-11 for career training and free workshops. Make an appointment for free career support at https://calendly.com/help4careers/30min

San Diego Police Department is offering a FREE Teen Alcohol Awareness Program (T.A.A.P) for students and families in middle school and high school. Please click on document below for more information including dates.

Would you like to be a volunteer at Mesa Verde? Our volunteers at Mesa Verde are an integral part of school. Our volunteers help with events throughout the school year including after school and evening activities, classroom and club support, 6th grade Olympics, 7th grade History Faire, 8th Grade Constitutional Challenge and Promotion.

New guidance from the Poway Unified Board of Education is allowing us to expand our volunteer opportunities, effective 10/18/21. Volunteers must be fully-vaccinated and show proof of vaccination or show proof of a negative PCR COVID test within the 72 hours prior to volunteering. If you would like more information, please contact Natalie Reyes at (858) 538-5478 or nreyes@powayusd.com.

Sign up here if you would like to hear more.

The Mesa Verde library is looking for volunteers to help in the library during the lunch periods (Mon/Tues/Thur/Fri 11:00 to 12:40 and Wednesdays 11:40 to 1:00). We need help assisting and supervising students during our busy lunch periods. Volunteers may choose which day of the week and how often you would like to come in (once a week, every other week, once a month, etc). If you are interested please contact Heather Ryan: hryan@powayusd.com.

If you are not sure if you are an approved volunteer, contact Natalie Reyes at (858) 538-5478 or nreyes@powayusd.com.

Has your child lost anything at MV? If so, please have them take a look in the lost and found. MV’s lost and found is accessible to students and located in between the health and main office entry in a large metal cabinet. Any special/personal items like retainers, glasses, jewelry, house keys, headphones, electronics, etc. are inside the office with Mrs. Rinehart. At the end of each month, any items that are left in the lost and found will be donated or discarded. Please encourage your student to pick up any lost items. As a reminder, please do your best to label all items to assist your student in locating them if lost.

Call Mesa Verde's Health Tech at (858) 538-5478, ext. 3107. For more information, click here.

Call the Attendance Hotline at (858) 538-5692 if your child is absent from school.

If you are unsure of who to contact about a matter, please email us at MVMS@powayusd.com and your message will be answered or forwarded to the correct person.