Paly Community Update
Friday February 24, 2023
These past few days have certainly been a challenge for many of us due to the unpredictability of our recent weather. I know that many of our families and staff members have been without power, internet and even water in some cases for the past few days. Hopefully, we are on the other side of this challenge and will start seeing spring-like weather soon.
Next week at Paly we will be hosting our Paly Town Hall Meeting at Paly on Wednesday, March 1, 2023 in the Media Arts Center (MAC). We will be offering the same meeting at the Boys and Girls Club in East Palo Alto on Wednesday, March 8, 2023. The purpose of these meetings is to provide our parent community opportunities to learn and provide input on our developing Paly Core Values and to learn about the equity work we have been doing at Paly over the past couple of years. We look forward to having you join us on either of these events.
Sincerely,
Brent Kline, Principal
Paly Town Hall Meeting--March 1 & 8
Progress Note grades
Dear Paly Families, Our first Second Semester Progress Report grades have been posted to Infinite Campus. To check your child’s grades, please log in to the ID Portal and select Infinite Campus. Click on the three lines in the upper left-hand corner and then click on "documents."
If you have any questions regarding the academic progress, please contact your child’s teacher directly.
College Board
Last year, College Board announced that the SAT® Suite of Assessments, which includes the SAT, PSAT/NMSQT®, PSAT™ 10, and PSAT™ 8/9, would be delivered digitally beginning in 2023. The transition from paper and pencil to digital assessments in the U.S. will begin with the digital PSAT/NMSQT and PSAT 8/9 in the fall of 2023 followed by the digital SAT and PSAT 10 in the spring 2024.
College Board will continue to support all students, including those who receive accommodations or use assistive technology on test day.
AP testing
The deadline to register for AP testing is March 8th. All students should confirm that they have signed up on both the College Board site, as well as through Total Registration. For more information, click the following link: https://www.paly.net/campus-life/ap-exams
Advisory
Course Selection wraps up this week. The window will close on March 3rd and students will no longer be able to see their choices. If your student still hasn’t completed their selections, please have them do so now. Please print and sign the request sheet and have your student turn it into their TA. If your student is requesting an Honors, AP, or Dual Enrollment class, they’ll also need to turn in a signed agreement along with their course requests.
Advisories in March turn student’s attention to their futures. Juniors will be preparing for their post-high school plans. For a majority of our students that means learning about the college application process which they began when they attended the College & Career Center’s Orientation in January. Some students will enter the workforce - we have a Resume Lesson coming to help them prepare for the job search. Check back here in the coming weeks for links to the Resume Lesson and to The Viking College and Career Guide, a lesson about Letters of Recommendation, and a helpful “To Do” Calendar that breaks down tasks by month to help keep your students on track.
Speaking of college applications and the process, parent/guardians should mark their calendars for the Junior Parent/TA/College Advisor evening on March 15th. We will start at 6:30pm with a presentation by our College Advisors in the Performing Arts Center (PAC). Next, parents will head to classrooms to meet with their student’s TA. The evening is designed to introduce families to the college application steps their students are learning about in Advisory.
Planning for the future isn’t all about college, it starts with exploring interests that could lead to satisfying college majors and career choices. 9th and 10th graders both have upcoming career exploration lessons. If you’re interested, check back in a few weeks and we’ll post the lessons here after the Advisories.
Work Permits
March is Career Month and Paly hosts a robust Career Speaker Series with the kick-off event during PRIME on March 15th in the big gym with Steam the Streets: the assembly demystifies STEAM career pathways for students and aims to inspire a new and diverse workforce utilizing storytelling and culturally relevant media. Students that are interested in attending the Kick-Off event will have the opportunity to sign-up on IC in the coming weeks. Volunteers to help out during the speaker events can contact Beth Martin (bmartin@pausd.org).
Work Permits are required for all students working a paid position in order to maintain the job site in compliance with the state of CA. Follow this link for information about how to obtain a work permit, and refer to this slidedeck for information about local jobs, volunteer options, and the new section: summer opportunities.
Healthy Relationships - Hosted by RISE Club
Our RISE (Responsive Inclusive Safe Environment) student club has been working with Paly staff member Tiffany Cortese, whose background and experiences provide expert advice in the area of Consent Education, to create student-lead discussions around healthy relationships. In collaboration with OneLove, Paly student facilitators have undergone training and will lead conversations with our 9th and 10th grade students around healthy relationships February 27th through March 3rd within class periods. We appreciate and applaud the time and efforts that our RISE student club has devoted to coordinating these important discussions for our 9th and 10th grade students.
Semester 2 Academic Calendar Important Dates
Paly Bell Schedule 2022-2023
