Paly Community Update
Thursday, November 10, 2022
Hello Viking Families!
Funding from Palo Alto Partners in Education (PiE) allows us to provide increased levels of academic and social/emotional support to all students. PiE dollars fund counselors, support the College and Career Center, enhance electives for students, and pay for Wellness programs. PiE’s funding plays a pivotal role in our ability to support all students in accessing a world class education. Students benefit by having more enriching electives programs that foster their creativity, knowledge, and overall growth into young adults.
If you have already donated to PiE this year, I appreciate your support. If you have not, I ask you to please consider making a donation during the second Challenge Grant campaign occurring now through Monday, November 14. If you donate or pledge by November 14th, your donation may be matched by a Challenge Grant.
A donation, in any amount that is meaningful for your family, makes a difference to our community and our school.
You can find out all the ways to make a contribution on PiE's website at:
https://papie.org/donate/
Thank you for being an important part of the Paly community. And remember the Challenge Grant begins on Tuesday, November 1 through Monday, November 14.
Timothy Alexander Returns to Paly
It was an honor to have the opportunity to work with inspirational speaker Timothy Alexander (TA) last week at Paly, who returned to Paly for a second visit of this school year. The time that I was able to spend with TA left me absolutely inspired to press on, even if my gas light is indicating it is time to refuel. As TA said, “our gas light is on, but we are not empty. There is still something left in the tank; enough to finish the task that has been started.”
Sincerely,
Principal, Brent Kline
Caltrain Electrification Update
GRADE CROSSING PEDESTRIAN ACCESS NOTICE | November 2022
Beginning on November 14 and until November 30, Caltrain will be performing grounding and bonding work for the signaling system that will require temporary closures of one side of the Churchill, Alma, E Meadow and Charleston pedestrian crossings to one side of pedestrian traffic on Mondays-Fridays. Vehicular traffic will not be impacted.
From November 14 to November 18, between the hours of 9:30 am and 4 pm, there will be a temporary pedestrian closure of one side of the Churchill crossing.
From November 17 to November 29 (Mondays through Fridays only,) between the hours of 9:30 am and 4 pm, there will be a temporary pedestrian closure of one side of the Alma crossing.
From November 28 to November 30, between the hours of 9:30 am and 4 pm, there will be a temporary pedestrian closure of one side of the East Meadow crossing.
From November 28 to November 30, between the hours of 9:30 am and 4 pm, there will be a temporary pedestrian closure of one side of the Charleston crossing.
Illuminated and directional signs will direct pedestrians the opposite side of the crossing. Only one side of each crossing (northern or southern) will be closed at a time. Only one crossing will have impacted access at a time.
Paly Event Highlights
ATHLETICS: Football
Paly Football will host Stevenson School for the first round of CCS Playoffs this Friday, 11/11, at Paly @7:00pm.
This is a CCS event, so tickets are purchased at a different website than our regular season games.
CCS does not accept cash sales at the gate. This is not a rule set by Paly, it is a CCS Rule for all playoff games. Please make sure to buy your tickets ahead of time!
Also, note that ticket prices are increased for playoffs. This price is set by CCS, not Paly.
Interested in Coaching Badminton?
We are looking for someone to fill the role of our Badminton Coach for this upcoming Spring Season and would love to have an on-campus coach! Here are some basic details about the experience:
First day of Spring practices is 1/30//23
Matches are from 3/07/23 – 5/06/23
Matches are on Tuesdays and Thursdays @ 5:15pm
Practice times are at coach’s discretion (earliest start time is 20 minutes after the last school bell)
1st year coaches will receive a $4,280 stipend (see attached pay scale)
No prior experience with Badminton is required! What is required: time, care, and commitment to our Paly Badminton student-athletes!
We have an assistant coach (Len Hill) who has been coaching Badminton for decades
He is willing to share his knowledge of the game as it is requested by the head coach
If you are interested or know of someone who might be interested in supporting our Badminton program, please contact Jenny Crane, Paly Athletic Director at Jcrane@pausd.org
Updates from Guidance
Advisory
Last year was the first full year working with our Student Advisory Committee composed of students from each grade level. We found their insights, feedback, and ideas to be invaluable! We hosted our first meeting of the year a week ago and feel we are off to a strong start. We began by discussing feedback from students and TAs about the Time Management lesson the committee designed last year and was just delivered in Advisory. We are so grateful to have student voice included in future lesson ideas - they help us keep our fingers on the pulse of the student community needs.
Other Advisories covered:
9th Grade - Introduction to Naviance lesson. Naviance is a web-based service designed for students and parents. You can use it to keep informed about courses, colleges, and careers. It provides up-to-date information that’s specific to Paly. It also lets us share information with you about up-coming meetings, news, and events, as well as other Web resources for college and career information. Students will use it multiple times in Advisory and can access it at any time for their own purposes or to explore further. All frosh parents will be sent an email with Naviance information about how to log in and link your family members together. For those parents with older students, you might remember logging in to Naviance often throughout your student’s high school career. Now it’s a part of our single sign-in process making it much easier and quicker to access via your ID portal. Students logged in and did some research on careers of interest. Here’s the LESSON if you are interested in learning more.
10th Grade - Sophomores learned how to review a copy of their transcript on Infinite Campus. They were then able to use their transcript as reference to understand graduation requirements vs. CSU/UC eligibility requirements. To learn more, check out these LESSON SLIDES.
11th Grade - Juniors utilized Naviance again to explore personal interests and how they can lead to career options. There are several surveys in Naviance that students can access at any time to learn more about themselves and careers - they even take it to the next step and connect that information to colleges that have relatable majors. Students chose from several surveys - to see the Career Key survey and that lesson,
look HERE.
12th Grade - Seniors had a “check-in” Advisory. At this time of year, students always express the need for individual time with their TAs. Having the ED and EA application date of Nov. 1st behind them, most are concentrating on UC and CSU apps which are due Nov 30th. For students not needing time with their TA or help filling out applications, this time can be spent reviewing the Gap Year, Community College, and Career/Vocational School Explore pages.
College and Career Center
CSU and UC Deadlines Approaching - Nov. 30
We recommend students submit before Thanksgiving as the application systems slow down closer to the deadlines, which can be frustrating. Consult the tips sheets for completing these application; students will find them in the relevant folder in the Paly C&CC Class of 2022 Schoology course.
Speaking of Thanksgiving (and college applications)…
Thanksgiving can be a challenging time for our seniors when asked many questions about college applications by friends and family. While questions (and opinions/advice received after answering them) might be well-meaning or an attempt to connect with your seniors, students might find them uncomfortable or stressful. Parents are encouraged to help develop a plan for how students can answer these questions in a general way (and, maybe help change the subject of conversation). These are several articles worth reviewing: here and here
Seniors: Did your senior drop a class or change their course schedule after submitting college applications?
If so, they'll need to contact each campus (email or U.S. Mail recommended) to notify them that their current and/or planned course schedule has changed. If relevant, be sure to reference the application ID # (or the campus ID received after submitting the college app) in the message. For a template, click here.
Please also encourage your student to notify their Teacher Advisor as there is a question about changed coursework they must answer in the mid-year report when completing it in January for regular-decision applications, after first semester grades are posted to transcripts.
AB 469 FAFSA Completion Reminder for the Class of 2023
Last month, Herb Espiritu, PAUSD Director of Student Services, sent a Parent Square email to parents of seniors regarding the submission of the FAFSA/CA Dream Act (CADAA) used to apply for need-based financial aid. CA Assembly Bill 469 and California Education Code (CEC) § 51225.7 now require the Palo Alto Unified School District to confirm each 12th grade student’s submission unless the student has opted-out from sharing that information with PAUSD.
Paly Guidance will be following up with an email to senior families who haven’t responded to the district survey, to report your student’s FAFSA/CADAA submission status. For more information, read here.
Work Experience/Permits
Hiring for seasonal workers has begun - explore the Bulletin Board for Job Opportunities - updated regularly. If you have additional career related questions, please contact the Work Experience Teacher, Rachael Kaci: rkaci@pausd.org, Work permits are required for all students under the age of 18 earning a wage, so please have this B1-1 document completely filled out prior to submission to Ms. Kaci. Thanks for your cooperation as this keeps our local job sites in compliance & informs PAUSD of who is actively working. More info can be found here.