December Newsletter
Class of 2027
Class of 2027 Grade Level Team
(Ms. Bojorquez, Mrs. Gunion, Mr. Smith, Mrs. Carbajal, Mr. Watkins, Ms. Castrejon, Ms. Soto)
A Message from Your 2027 Team
Fall Semester 2 is coming to an end! There are only two more weeks of the semester. Final Exams will take place ON December 20th AND 21st
Students will get a final grade for both their every day classes and their every other day classes.
Please encourage the students in your household to attend tutorial and start preparing for finals now!
If you have any additional concerns, please contact your Class of 2027 Grade Level Team at glt2027@helixcharter.net
Upcoming Events & Important Dates
- December 20-21 - Finals for Fall Semester 2
- Friday - December 22 - Teacher Work Day, No School
- December 22-January 9 - Winter Break
- Wednesday, January 10 - First day of Spring Semester 1
- Monday, January 15 - MLK Day, No School
- Wednesday, January 24 - Parent Shadow Day and Mid-High School Reflections
Winter Formal
WINTER FORMAL ACADEMIC & ATTENDANCE EXPECTATIONS
We go back 5 weeks from the date of the dance to check the following:
No truancies
No suspensions
No more than ONE lockout
No more than THREE unexcused absences
No more than FIVE tardies
No more than FIVE excused absences
Must have 2.0 GPA from the December report card
Student Highlight of the Month!
Our Student Highlight for the month of November is Kate Weaver!
This is what Damon Chase had to say about Kate, "Freshman cross country runner Kate Weaver was crowned the Grossmont Conference champion with the time of 15:20 on a hilly 2.6 mile course. She is the first female runner to win the Grossmont Conference title as a freshman in school history. On Saturday, she placed 6th in division one with the time of 18:27 (fastest freshman time of the day) at the CIF SD Section and qualified individually to the California State Championship in Fresno on Nov. 25."
Every month your GLT will be recognizing students who have gone above and beyond and have shown what it means to be a true Scottie.
Student & Community News
College Fair - Thursday & Friday, December 7 & 8
Our Helix First classes will hold their Annual College Fair in the gym. Students pick colleges to research, create displays and presentations and then present to seniors. This event is for students only but we will be sure to share photos of the event!
Winter Snow Jams Concert - December 13 & 14
The Winter Snow Jams Concert will perform on the Helix PAC Mainstage on December 13 & 14 from 7-9:30pm.
Community Service Opportunities
A list of community service opportunities can be found at helixcharter.net/community. We keep it very updated and some interesting new opportunities have just been added!
English 120 Course Info & Expectations - Thursday, December 7 at 6pm
Did you register for English 120 for next term? Wondering what the workload will be like? How much effort is expected? We welcome all students and families that are registered for English 120 to hear the truth about the course from teacher Aleen Jendian. This event will be held in person in the Helix library. Doors open at 5:45. Refreshments will be served. Registration is not required. For translation services, click here bit.ly/46c6iT2
4 Year Plan Presentations
On December 12th and 13th your 2027 GLT will be going around to Helix First classrooms and presenting on 4 Year Plans. The 4 Year Plan is where students will plan out what classes they wish to take their 4 years here at Helix. The 4 Year Plan is NOT the classes you will be guaranteed for next year this is only a PLAN. Actual class choices will be made during Course Request season so stay tuned.
Students who wish to set up an appointment to further discuss their 4 Year Plans can send an email to their Academic Advisor or Counselor.
Academic Advisor: castrejon@helixcharter.net
Counselor: msoto@helixcharter.net
Course Request After Winter Break
Starting in January, students will begin to select their courses for sophomore year. Students will individually meet with someone on their GLT to discuss their planned courses. Students are encouraged to review the 10th-12th grade course catalog to view all the courses we currently have available.
We will be offering a parent/guardian presentation during the month of January to provide parents and guardians the knowledge they need to support their students through this decision process. More information on this presentation to come.
Volunteer Opportunities
If you have any questions about the Hygiene Products Drive please contact Brayden Pape 9890@helixcharter.net
If you have any questions about the Diaper Drive please contact Amy Hull ahull@helixcharter.net or Emmett Stewart 9226@helixcharter.net
Academic Support News
- Happenings
Week 1 (Dec. 4 - Dec. 8) CRUNCH TIME
Week 2 (Dec. 11 - Dec. 15) FINAL DAYS TO TURN IN LATE WORK
Week 3 (Dec. 18 - Dec. 21) FINALS WEEK
FS2 FINALS: DEC. 20 - DEC. 21
Week 4 (Dec. 24) - Dec. START OF BREAK
- Announcements
Finals will fall on 12/20-12/21 - Adjusted Bell Schedule will be going out as these days are minimum days.
TUTORIAL: Due to it being finals week, there is a chance that Tutorial scheduling may vary depending on the teacher. Ensure your students are taking advantage of this time, and are planning it out accordingly!
ASP Tutorial Will Run Monday - Tuesday from 3:00 - 4:00, and Wednesday 2:15 - 3:15. We will NOT be holding tutorial on Thursday 12/21
Tips/Tricks
Final Studying Habits
Start your study guides/practice ASAP - having more time with the material gives you more time to figure out what you know and what you need more time on
Order your material from least confident to most confident - prioritizing this can help organize yourself and maximize time
Organize your resources! Find notes, old homework, quizzes, or tests to help make review guides - a lot of teachers build off of material they have already assigned.
Break your studying up between more days - more time to really know material and it feels less stifling when you are not cramming
Find a quiet place! Studies show that the brain cannot focus on many things at once, so having a space where your focus is targeted to your work is most productive
Explain what you’re learning to someone else!
Find extra practice online or from your teacher!
Bring Questions to Class!
‘Doomsday’ prepping - sleeping, eating, rest, taking breaks,
Self-Care
Can be anything from preparing your favorite snack, partaking in your favorite pastime, or simply relaxing! These additions to your Finals Routine are just as important as the Studying aspect of Finals Prep.
Academic Coach Highlight
Coach Furrow is in his first year as an Academic Coach, but is no stranger to the sports side of coaching. Assistant Boys Varsity Basketball coach, Furrow started his love for basketball at a very young age. He played college basketball at Jamestown University. After college, he worked at BMW for 17 years while still involving himself in the world of basketball. His passion for guiding the youth is the reason he became interested in coaching. He feels it is not a job but something that he gets to do. Important to Furrow, he went back to school and graduated in 2022 so that he could step foot into the education realm. Furrow was married in 2020 to his beautiful wife of 3 years. His short term goal is to become an Academic Advisor but eventually a Counselor.
What advice would you give to your Freshman Self?
I didn’t focus on school, so put academics first and then sports (Student athlete). DO YOUR HOMEWORK!
Creating A Parent Canvas Observer Account
Your student will be receiving their classroom announcements, assignments and grades via Canvas. As a parent, you are able to create what is called a Parent Observer Account to view your student's progress. Here is a video you can watch with your student that will assist you with creating a Helix Canvas Observer account. The second link will help with the understanding of what an Observer account is.
If you have multiple students currently enrolled at Helix, the first link will explain how to observe multiple students starting at 1:17.
Xello Family Invite Notice
Xello is a college and career planning tool that is available to all students throughout their high school journey. We would like our families to use this program at home with their children to help explore different postsecondary options. You will receive the following email from Xello. Please be sure to click on Activate Account and it will redirect you to Xello:
As a school we will use Xello at every grade level to make sure students are utilizing the different resources available. Here are the different topics Grade Level Teams will present on throughout the years:
- 9th Grade: College Fair Preparation
- 10th Grade: Career Exploration
- 11th Grade: Post Secondary Planning
- 12th Grade: College Applications and Financial Aid
To learn more about Xello, please watch this short video: English or Spanish.
NEW Schedule at the start of Spring Semester Term 1 (After Winter Break)
Students will begin their Spring Semester schedules once we return from Winter Break. To view their Spring Semester Term 1 schedules, students are encouraged to log onto their StudentVue portal located on the Helix website.
Login utilizing Student ID as Username & Helix Gmail Password as Password
Tutorials
Teacher Tutorial 2:54pm-3:35pm
Monday/Wednesday
Art, English, Helix First, LOTE, PE, Performing Arts, Science
Tuesday/Thursday
Business, Family/Consumer Science, Math, Social Science, Tech
Academic Support Tutorial 3:00pm-4:00pm
Room 1340 Monday-Thursday
*This tutorial offers more one-on-one support from Academic Coaches