Hilltop Herald - Parent Edition
Be Respectful ~ Be Responsible ~ Be Resilient
Volume 1 ~ Issue 14 ~ October 28, 2022
Amazing Falcon Families,
“Remember, there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” ~Scott Adams~
As we enter the holiday season, I want to discuss kindness with you. November and December are known for giving and the world is known to be more compassionate and loving in these two months than any other months in the year. So this transition to the holiday season is the perfect foundation on which to discuss how we act. Last Friday, we ended our day with mob-like behavior marching down J Street with the intent of seeing a fight between two female students. This behavior did not demonstrate kindness as there was eagerness from many of you to see someone get hurt. Not only that, many of you decided to aggravate the situation by being unkind in your social media and text regarding this situation. Falcons, you are better than the behavior many of your classmates demonstrated on Friday. Kindness is a CHOICE. Every day you and I get to decide if we are going to be kind today and all the days that follow. Our choices have ripple effects. Whether we choose to be kind or mean, our choices will have lasting impact on others. By being kind, you may have brought joy to a person who is suffering or sad. Your words may have made a difference in someone's life. What impact do you want to leave to others? Choose to be kind. Please watch the video on how to treat people kindly.
Halloween Day Expectations
Students, as we begin the week with Halloween, I would like to remind you of our mantra: Be Respectful ~ Be Responsible ~ Be Resilient. Being aware of our mantra or saying is the first step because this will lead to being conscious of how you behave and especially on a day associated with candy and costumes. Be respectful of how other students decided to participate today whether they are in costume or not. Be responsible in following the costume guidelines so that you do not have to wear loaners as well as throwing away your candy wrappers properly. Be resilient in behaving well throughout the day; celebrating Halloween is not permission to act crazy. Let's have fun tomorrow safely.
Winter Sports Tryouts Coming Soon
Students, if you are interested in cheer and soccer, tryouts are around the corner. You must be enrolled in Falcon Flight in order to tryout. Please make sure you join in the next two weeks. Please read the Falcon Flight section for more information.
Falcon Flight Program Rules and Changes
Falcon Families, if you are part of the Falcon Flight Program, please make sure that you follow ALL rules to participate in the program. In the Falcon Flight section below, I have included all the rules that must be followed. This is especially important for accurate attendance records. Parents, know that for your child to leave early, you must have completed an early release form; this is important if your child has a regular day where he/she might need to leave early. Early release begins at 4:35pm. If you cannot stay at least until 4:35pm, you might not be eligible for Falcon Flight. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Finally, we have two new coordinators: Ms. Pulido and Mr. Horton. They can be contacted regarding the changes via email: jessica.pulido@sweetwaterschools.org or joshua.horton@sweetwaterschools.org.
Please make sure that you read the newsletter in its entirety to ensure that you are in the KNOW of what is happening at HTM.
Sincerely,
Ms. Finley
Now that Progress Report 2 is over, make sure that in the next 5 weeks, you are doing your best to maintain your grades if they are acceptable or make up missing work if your grades are not where they should be.
I have included the California Education Code and our district policy that govern how students grades are assigned. The maint point that I want to emphasize from this is that your teachers are the only adults on campus who can assign your grades. Both Ed Code and Policy state, "The teacher determines the final grade." A principal or assistant principal or counselor cannot do it. So..... it is important that if you are currently failing or receiving a D, that you, the student, needs to talk to your teachers as to how to raise your grades. This also means that you, the student, attend Falcon Scholars and/or Saturday Academy. Finally, it also means that you cannot submit late work just before the final grades are due in December. Furthermore, our board policy also states that excessive unexcused absences can negatively affect your grades. Thus, if you have any unexcused absences, you should attend Saturday Academy.
Falcons, you got this! It is time to show your resilient spirit and get to work.
All Falcon Flight Programs will resume on Tuesday, October 4, 2022. If you are a Falcon Flight family, it is important that you follow ALL rules pertaining to the program in order to remain enrolled in the program. Please read all the rules in the image below. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Ms. Reimund and Ms. Pulido who are the coordinators of the programs.
Parents, if you want your child to join Falcon Flight, click HERE to sign up. Once a staff member enrolls your student into the program, you will receive an email stating that they are now part of the program.
Effective upon returning from break on October 3, 2022, student athletes and VAPA participants are recommended, but no longer required to test weekly to continue to participate. Testing and masking requirements for Covid-positive, symptomatic students and close contacts are still in effect. Please continue protecting your family by testing weekly.
If you wish to continue to test weekly, click HERE to sign up for the testing program.
Easter Finley, Principal
Email: easter.finley@sweetwaterschools.org
Website: htm.sweetwaterschools.org
Location: 44 East J Street, Chula Vista, CA, USA
Phone: 619.498.2700
Twitter: @erfinleysd